Protect Me

Written by: Luna

Chapter 16 – Childhood Innocence

Disclaimer – I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, yet any new characters that I have created to fit the story are mine, and part of Protect Me. Thank you!

The place up ahead was an oasis of a kind. In the middle of the desert, there was a group of trees with a rock wall to the side. Upon closer inspection, you could see the mouth of an underground cave. Unless you knew where this location was, it wouldn't be an easy place to find.

The two teens were still a ways away, but continued at a steady pace, Ed giving Roze a warning glance to approach carefully. The last thing he wanted was surprises and he wasn't sure if Sid knew to expect him already.

Roze followed behind Ed in a sort of daze. She couldn't take her eyes off the cave. So many memories flooded back to her and they made her heart sick with the old mixing with the new. Tears brimmed her eyes as she thought back to those childhood years so long ago.

Flashback

A knocking sound was heard on the front door of a small cottage. It was morning and the family inside was just beginning to bustle about the house.

"I'll get it!" A five-year-old girl rushed to the door with a huge smile on her face because she knew who it was.

She opened the door to her best friend, Selene. Both girls were the same age and had been together since they could remember.

Selene stood outside with an equally excited grin on her small face. "Hey Roze!"

"Hey!"

The young girl's eyes lit up even more as she began to pour out her news all at once. "Brother is going to take us exploring today! We're going to be leaving really soon so you need to get ready to come with us!" Her arms were flapping at her sides as she spoke with her excitement.

Roze squealed at the news of actually going on an exploration and jumped up and down. "Alright!" She stopped suddenly and glanced behind her. "But I have to ask my mom first. Just a second, okay?" The young girl disappeared in the house and muffled sounds could be heard as she talked to her parents. After a couple of minutes, she ran back to the door. "They said I could go because your brother is going to be with us. I have to be back before dark though."

Selene nodded and giggled. "Great!"

After yelling a 'goodbye' to her parents, Roze shut the front door and the girls left. They ran down the main street of Liore and raced back to Selene's house, laughing all the way.

Sid was just coming out of the house with a bag over his shoulder and shutting the door when the girls ran up.

"Brother! Roze can come! Isn't that great?"

The eleven-year-old boy looked down at Roze and smiled. "Of course it is. It's going to be fun. Let's get going."

Selene and Roze followed behind him and talked about anything and everything. Sid didn't really mind spending time with the girls. He loved his sister and Roze was just as sweet, so he liked doing things like this sometimes and taking them on an adventure. His parents trusted him completely, even for his young age. He had never done anything dishonest to destroy their trust, and he was a boy who was very mature for being only eleven.

With only desert surrounding their small town, they decided to venture out and see if they could find anything of interest in the sand. Sid told them it was like looking for buried treasure, which only fueled their excitement.

After wandering through the desert away from the city for about thirty minutes, Selene finally noticed something in the distance. "Brother, what is that over there?" she asked pointing to it.

Sid looked in the indicated direction and squinted his eyes to try to make it out. "I'm not sure. You guys want to go check it out?"

Both girls replied with a 'yes' and so they started in that direction.

As they walked Roze asked Selene what she thought it could be. "Maybe it's a dragon."

Selene looked surprised. "Well, if it is a dragon, my brother will slay it for us. I'm not afraid."

Sid only smiled as he listened to them.

"I'm not afraid either. Maybe it will be a nice dragon and Sid won't have to kill it."

The boy laughed. "I don't think it's a dragon." They had gotten closer to it by now and he could make it out. "It looks like it could be a cave to me."

They came up beside him, one on each side, and looked in awe at the approaching formation.

"Ooo! It's so cool!" Selene said before she pulled on her brother's shirt. "Can we go inside? Can we?"

Roze looked up at him as well and nodded her head hopefully.

By now they were up to it and Sid peeked inside the cave's mouth. "It's really dark down there. We wouldn't be able to see anything."

The disappointment was obvious on the girls' faces as he looked down at them. "Okay. Wait just a second." Sid went over to a place that was under the trees around the cave and found a long stick. He brought it back and sat down on the ground, pulling off his bag in the process.

"What are you doing, brother?"

"Just wait and see."

Sid took the end of the stick and tore off a piece of fabric from his shirt, proceeding to tie the cloth around the end. Then he opened his bag and rummaged through it before he took at a small box of matches. He was thankful that he kept all the necessities in his travel bag that could possibly come in handy on a trip. After striking the match, he held it to the cloth and before long he held a brightly lit torch.

Selene and Roze stepped back and their happiness returned as they figured out what he had done. Now they would have light to go inside.

The girls clung to the sides of Sid as they ventured into the cave and descended down the step-like path that led to the bottom.

When they reached the dirt floor they stopped and Sid held the torch out in front of him to light up the room. All three stood with wide eyes as they saw the space before them. There was one big room where they stood and as they ventured deeper, they found other smaller rooms that were separated by thick dirt and stone walls. The cave didn't go back too much further, so they walked back to the main room at the beginning.

Sid stood in the middle and the torch did a very good job of illuminating the entire area.

"This place is the coolest thing I've seen ever!" Selene exclaimed as she twirled about the room.

Roze jumped up and down and then ran over to Selene, grabbing both her hands and started spinning with each other.

Sid laughed at their joy and then spoke. "Hey! We should move in here one day."

Selene and Roze stopped and looked at him in surprise.

"We could make this our special base or something."

Roze laughed and nodded eagerly in agreement. "Yes, yes! There are so many rooms we could put stuff in. This could be great!"

Selene nodded as well at the prospect of having their very own secret place. "And if any of us is lonely or sad about something we can come here and this place will make us happy again." She looked at Roze and her brother. "If I'm not able to find you one day, I will come here and find you. This place is magic."

Roze smiled and agreed.

Sid reached down and put his hand on his sister's head, but was looking at both girls standing next to each other. "Yes. Remember that. This place will be our secret and if one of us is lost or in trouble one day, they will come here."

All three had profound faces as they took this friendship vow and bond seriously.

Roze looked at Selene and Sid. "Friends forever."

The two smiled and repeated. "Friends forever."

End Flashback

As Roze followed behind Ed, she thought, her mind wandering. That was a long time ago, but Sid, why? I looked up to you. Her eyes blinked back the tears that threatened to spill. Selene and I both did.

She knew that Sid would be here. If no one had seen him for so long, this was the only other place he would have come to. She knew it.

They had reached the front of the cave now and stood side by side as they watched a figure approach from the black mouth of the cave.

"Fullmetal. You have finally arrived."

Ed narrowed his eyes viciously and held his ground as his intense stare felt that it could have ripped this man apart. "Sid."