Author's Note: Thank you, Monk of the Neko, for your encouraging review! I probably should have mentioned it earlier, but this fic is supposed to take place after the last episode in the series. It has nothing to do with the movie that I know of, since I haven't seen it yet and won't be able to see it until it comes out in a language I can understand. I just needed some closure, that's all ;)

A Discovery

Julius was already asleep—or feigning sleep—by the time Anna got to their bunk, so she did not have the chance to apologize to him that night. The next morning, when the train pulled into Hermannstadt with a loud screeching of wheels, he all but refused to acknowledge his sister's presence aside from the necessary "Find me on the platform" as he threw on his coat and walked out the door. Anna packed the rest of her things and miserably pulled on her traveling gloves, silently berating herself for not knowing when to keep her mouth shut. Leopold's death during the war had affected them all, but none so deeply as Julius. She sighed. She really should have known better.

After handing her luggage ticket to the porter, Anna tucker her purse under one arm and crossed the walkway that connected the sleeping compartment to the coach compartments. She wondered where Edward had spent the night, since she had not seen any sign of him in the car where she and Julius had stayed; maybe he had been assigned to a different one. In any case, she hoped that she would have a chance to properly say good-bye to him before they parted ways, especially after the way last night ended.

She entered the car where she had last seen him and was surprised to see that he was still there, though this time with his head and arms sprawled across the table, asleep. Underneath him lay an array of papers that were filled with calculations and complicated diagrams. Anna glanced at the sheet lying under his right hand—a schematic for an oddly designed airplane—with passing interest. It was the stuff of books and fantasy, this idea of flying into space, but she was not going to say so, not around him. Nor would anyone else, if she could help it.

Edward seemed so peaceful at rest, with all frowns smoothed away and his nose resting in the crook of his elbow. He looked very young, unexpectedly so, and was probably not much older than she was. It was his eyes, the same eyes that she saw in soldiers who had witnessed the horrors of war, that made him seem older. She felt guilty about disturbing him, but he was going to miss his stop if he didn't wake up soon. "Edward," she said carefully, trying not to be too loud so as not to startle him. She put a hand on his shoulder to shake him out of his slumber, but gasped when his shoulder felt more like a lead pipe than flesh and bone.

Surreptitiously, she trailed her fingers down his arm, which had the same rock-hard consistency as his shoulder. When she reached his wrist, she furtively glanced up to make sure he was still asleep. Feeling like a thief, she hooked one finger under his sleeve and another under his glove. It was improper, it was wrong, but she couldn't stop without knowing what was hiding under that coat of his. She pried apart the fabric and gaped in shock at the metal surface of a life-sized marionette's arm.

What is this? A…mechanical arm? That's impossible. But apparently it was possible—there was nothing but a ball-and-socket hinge where the wrist should have been, and several large screws dotted the grooved metal plate of his forearm. Who is he?

Suddenly, Edward's left hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She yelped and unsuccessfully trying to wrench herself free. "Don't do it!" he yelled, his eyes now wide open and blazing with an intensity that saw right through any pretense of innocence she might have had.

"I didn't mean to!" Anna cried fearfully, still struggling. Her handbag slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!"

"Don't do it, Sensei…!" Then he seemed to see her for the first time, and his grip around her wrist loosened. "Anna?" he said, as though he had been expecting someone else. "Ah…sorry. I must have been dreaming. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No…no," she said, unconsciously rubbing her wrist. She willed herself to breathe more evenly and calmly, very calmly, bent down to retrieve her handbag. Part of it was covered in dust, which she meticulously brushed off before returning the purse to its place under her arm. "We're in Hermannstadt. I wanted to wake you up, because you were sleeping. You might have missed it…your stop, I mean…so I woke you up." Now she was repeating herself and was not making all that much sense, but he seemed to understand her.

"I'm glad you did. Thank you," he said sincerely. Anna watched him intently as he began to gather up the papers he had been sleeping on. He seemed to be using his right arm—his metal arm—as naturally as if it had been real, except for the fingers, which remained limp like the first time she saw them. And there was that odd mechanical clicking sound again. It was so soft that she might have missed it if she hadn't been listening for it. How is something like this even possible?

"Is there…something wrong?" It was his turn to stare at her, puzzled, which made her realize how openly she had been staring at him.

"Uh, no, nothing's wrong, I was just thinking..." It was then that she noticed, with renewed horror, that the cuff of his right glove poked out unevenly from under the sleeve, revealing the dull metallic gleam of his forearm. "I was just thinking since you're going to be in town for a while, you should come visit us whenever you have the chance. Our gardens are beautiful at this time of year, and—oh! Adriana—that's our maid—makes the best pear pies I've ever tasted! Here, let me write down our telephone number. And this is our address. Oh, you simply must visit! We also—"

"Anna! What's taking you so long?" Her brother's voice cut through her frantic speech, which she was attempting to disguise as bubbly enthusiasm. Julius stood in the doorway of the car, his tall figure framed by the wan morning light. "You're going to end up on the other side of Romania if you don't get off the train. Now!" Though it was clear from the expression on his face that he rather preferred the first option.

"Oh! We had better hurry, then. Come on!" She dragged Edward out of his seat by his metal hand, making sure that the glove cuff came out the rest of the way from the sleeve.

They had only taken a few steps when Edward stopped short. "Wait, I almost forgot." He ran back to the table and climbed onto the seat, looking for something Anna couldn't see. He found what he was looking for near the window, and emerged clutching a small book in his good hand that he immediately tucked away under his coat. Before it disappeared into the coat, however, Anna caught sight of various narrow strips of paper haphazardly sticking out of its pages and a beaten leather cover, which gave her the impression that the book was well-used and probably contained important notes of some sort.

When the two of them stepped onto the platform, they were greeted by the remainder of Anna's family. Julius stood with his hands in his trouser pockets, his bored and sullen expression accentuated by the bangs that rakishly fell over his face. Her father was dressed in his usual brown coat and slacks—which were starting to go threadbare despite her mother's tireless attempts to make him wear something different—with round glasses perched on his nose. Finally, her mother, the Countess of Hermannstadt, was as regal and composed as ever, and wore a dress of deep scarlet with an embroidered and elegantly laced-up bodice. Her mother's hair was as dark as Anna's, except the Countess's was done up and largely concealed by a simple white hat.

Introductions were made all around, and Anna once again extended the invitation for Edward to come visit them, seconded by her mother. Edward looked from her mother to Anna, and then to her mother again, as if he was unsure of how to answer.

Anna chuckled lightly. Like most people, he probably found her mother beautiful and intimidating, so she said reassuringly, "Oh, Edward, when Mother says she wants to you come visit, she means it! Don't be afraid to say yes, ok?"

"Our doors are open to you, should you find the time to call on us," her mother said with smooth grace.

"Yeah…ok," Edward laughed nervously, still unable to take his eyes off Anna's mother.

Anna's family already had a car waiting to take them home, so they said their good-byes. When Edward turned to face Julius, he said nothing at first, and appeared to be studying the other boy.

"Hey, Edward." Julius said, as if something had just occurred to him. "How old are you?"

"How old am I?" Edward said, repeating this unexpected question. "I'm fifteen, but I'll be sixteen in a few weeks."

Her brother gaped at Edward in disbelief. "Really? Then how come you're so short?"

For the first time, Anna noticed that Julius towered over the blond-haired boy, who immediately snapped, "What did you say?"

Julius quickly got over his shock and couldn't resist the urge to provoke Edward even further. "You're almost sixteen, but you're barely taller than my little sister."

"You gotta problem with that?"

"Not unless you do, my little friend."

"Did you just call me little!"

"Let me see…as a matter of fact, I did."

Anna sighed. Why did her big brother always have to be such a pain in the butt? "Julius, be nice," she said warningly.

"I'm not little!"

"You are if you can fit into my shadow like that."

"Julius!" Anna said, exasperated.

"Oh yeah? Let's see how well my fist can fit into your face!"

When she realized that neither of them were listening to her, she stepped between them. "Julius, you need to shut your big mouth and stop making fun of this poor boy! And Edward, I know my brother can be a real jerk, and I apologize for that. But please ignore him when he can't seem to control his tongue."

But her brother only laughed and put one hand on his hip. "Aw, sis, we were just messing around. Right, Edward?"

Edward, however, was still steaming, but managed to calm down enough to lower his fist. "Hmph. One day I'll be taller than you, Russell, and we'll see what you have to say then."

"I already told you, my name's not Russell, it's Julius."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Brother, just get in the car."

Smirking, Julius complied with her request, and Anna climbed in after him. But before she closed the door, she turned to Edward one last time. "Promise you'll come see us, ok? Hermannstadt is a pretty big place, so I can show you around."

"All right…I will," Edward agreed, if a bit hesitantly.

As the car drove off, Anna watched Edward's figure grow smaller and smaller through the passenger seat window. Even she did not quite know why she was so drawn to this boy. Maybe it was his intense golden eyes that were sometimes distant, sometimes fierce with emotion, but always thinking about something. Maybe it was his unshakable determination in chasing a dream that no one else believed in. Or maybe it was—

"Fiesty little fellow, isn't he?" her mother remarked from the front of the car.

"Oh, Mama, Edward's not always like that. He's probably just sensitive about his height. You know good Julius is at getting people riled up."

"Hey!"

"You know it's true," she replied with a sniff. "Anyway, the reason I wanted to invite him over is because…I feel kind of sorry for him. He's from Germany, and he's all alone in a new country. And I think he's been through a lot in the war, more than we have."

"Why do you say that?" her mother asked with mild interest.

Anna hesitated for a moment. Revealing what she had found made her feel like she was betraying a secret that she had been entrusted with, so she leaned forward and whispered into her mother's ear.

Her mother looked out the window, her expression neutral, to catch another glimpse of the blond-haired stranger before the car turned the corner. "Is that so?"