Heir to the Flame

Chapter 13: Jackory

Riza checked her clock and slipped out of Maes's house, Black Hayate at her heels. She headed straight for Central Park wrapped in a thick coat and pushed open the gates when she got there. She squinted in the moonlight and looked towards the lake to see a tall man sillouhted against the black. He turned his head and looked her dead in the eyes, brown eyes locking onto hers. He was wearing a large jacket opened down the front revealing a black shirt and a chain with a hawk pendant hanging from it.

"It's been a while, Elizabeth."

She nodded. "It has, Jackory."

Jackory brushed his blonde hair from his eyes, still watching her intently. "And how have you been?" he asked. She shrugged. "Fine, I guess." He cocked his head to the side. "You've never been one to give vague answers, Elizabeth."

"I'm fine right now... but my stomach hurts. A lot." He nodded slowly. "I would suppose so, with a stomach like that. I daresay that isn't a coat of your ownership?"

She looked at the coat she had thrown on herself and laughed softly. "No, it's Roy's."

"Mustang?" he asked, interested now. She nodded again and her neck began to ache dully. "I remember a Mustang... just a bit. When we were children, remember? A General Mustang... I can't recall his name. He stayed a while at Father's house with his son; his son asked you to marry him and I kicked him in a river."

"I also remember that he dropped a beehive on your head and threw a stick into your bike wheels while you were riding it. You flipped and hit a tree, and a cat jumped down on your head hissing and spitting." Jackory flushed a bit and shrugged.

"How's your life in the military been? Are you proud of what you've done?" he asked softly. Riza's face darkened and her hand strayed to her stomach. "No... I'm not proud of the things I've done, Jackory."

"Did the Ishbal War fulfill anything for you?"

"No, it didn't."

"Then why do you continue to serve?"

"So Roy can become Fuhrer, and I refuse to stop until he's Fuhrer, or until we're both dead!"

"Whichever comes first," Jackory murmured.

"Tell Father I'm not going to drop the military. For all the bad things I've done, we've done... this is the only thing we can do to repent." Jackory held the pendant in his hand, his eyes half closed, thoughtful. "Father didn't mean it when he said not to come back, Riza. He said... he said he is willing to support you in whatever you do. You can always come back home for anything. Any kind of help." She nodded again and the pain intensified.

"Why did you come, Jack?"

"Oh, ah... well you see... I was taking my family, my wife and kid you know, on a trip... and uh..." he twiddled his fingers. "We got seperated. I think I got on the wrong train, so now she's probably worried sick about me..." Riza sighed and shook her head. "That's just like you, Jack. How do you lose track of your family and get on another train?"

"There was a big crowd and all the trains look the same to me. The problem was that I was supposed to get on train six, and the sign for train nine had flipped upside down..."

"I see. Now shouldn't you be trying to get back to your family, Jack?"

"The train stations said to come back tomorrow, and how could I resist visiting my twin sister, eh?" He asked, hugging her and kissing her cheek.

"Hmph. Whatever you say." Black Hayate panted next to her and she petted him, scratching behind his ears. Black Hayate's ears pricked up and he swiveled around, panting. "What is it, Hayate?" Black Hayate bounded towards the bushes and leaped, colliding with Roy who had been walking right behind the bush in question.

"Aagh! Hayate?" He looked up at Riza and Jackory and his face paled. Riza turned and saw Roy, her mouth dropping open. "Roy, I..." Roy heard nothing of course, but instead of thinking rationally, his exploded brain jumped to the worst conclusion.

Oh my God, what the ! Holy , is Riza cheating on me? And with a blonde! Damn it, it all!

"Roy wait, this isn't what you're thinking!" Roy's mouth clamped shut and he got up quickly, brushing dirt off of his coat. He gave Riza one pained and forlorn look, turned on his heel, and strode away. Riza grabbed Jackory's jacket cuff and dragged him quickly after Roy. When he was in sight she let go of him and ran until she wasclose and jumped towards him. He jerked forward when she fell against him and grabbed his waist and he turned. She looked up into his eyes and realized that he was crying as a tear fell on her face.

"Don't cry... Roy... that man, he's my twin brother. My brother, Jack." He wasn't entirely sure whether to believe her or not, and he looked away. She reached up and grabbed his face, pulling it back towards her. "Please believe me Roy..." He sighed heavily and rested his chin on her head. He was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. He pulled away a bit and cocked his head at her, taking a deep breath.

"Why eleven o' clock at night though?"

"It was already nine o' clock when he called, so I thought that I'd see him in two hours... I... should have told you before I left, but you weren't there... so I took Hayate with me."

"That was dangerous, Riza. A pregnant woman walking the streets alone close to midnight with no one to protect her but a dog... be more careful, for mine and the baby's sakes if not yours." He sounded like he was lecturing her and she pouted at him. He caught the look on her face and stopped, but began to hum a tune under his breath to himself. "Can we go home now?" he asked.

"Elizabeth... I've cause a bit of trouble, but would it be too much to ask to spend the night at your place? I'll be heading for the station tomorrow morning," Jackory said, a bit out of place. "Well, that's Roy's choice."

"I wouldn't mind, but it's not my house. You'll need to ask Maes, and you'll probably have to sit through the photos of his last vacation with Gracia; he just got them developed you know."

Some clarification on the subject of Black Hayate. This is not the same Black Hayate from 'Fullmetal Vs. Flame', which would indeed take place years from now. This is a different Black Hayate, which was described as a massive dog, while our furry little friend is a bit of a medium sized to smallish dog. I like Black Hayate.

-T A