Chapter 10

Fuhrer Bradley King stared at the letter right in front of him. He was silent, which was to Roy's surprise and disappointment. Finally, the Fuhrer spoke.

"So, you took her," he murmured.

"Yes, sir," Roy replied.

"How was she?" the Fuhrer asked.

"Great, sir," Roy was a little hesitating while answering that.

"Colonel, there is something I want to ask you. Please answer me honestly. Are you in love with her?"

"Sir?"

"Are you in love with her?"

"I…I…" For some reason, Roy just couldn't answer that. Fell in love with a woman, it never happened to him, ever! But Winry, she was different from other women, or was she? Being with her, it was not as the same with other women. Her touch, her breathe, her scent—they were every where.

"Colonel, when I told you to seduce her, I meant seduce her, not love her. Have you forgot that you are a man?"

"I don't understand what do you mean by that, sir."

"Let me put it this way. We are men. Sometimes, we have sexual lusts. We want women, touch them or fuck them. But never fall in love with them. If we do, we would lose our consciousness. We would be blind while making choices. We would be their prey. Do you understand me, Colonel Roy Mustang?"

"Sir, I am not in love with her," Roy responded, his voice somewhat shaking.

"Then break it with her."

"What?"

"Break it with her, and you'll get your extra star," Fuhrer stared at Roy's confusing face. "Colonel, just hear me out. If you want to be a general, you have to be able to act as one. A general is a superior with great responsibility. The state comes first, then it is his superiors, then it's his subordinates, then it's himself. If the man right in front of me is a man who always think about a chick back in the countryside, I'm not sure he would be able to take the responsibility."

"Sir, I don't see how…"

"What's more important to you, Colonel Mustang? Her or the state?"

"The state, of course. The state always comes first in my life, no matter what."

"Then prove it to me. Break it with her. Leave her. Then, you'll get your promotion. Do you understand me?"

"Sir!" Roy saluted. His heart was filled with grieves and disappointments.

"You are dismissed!" Fuhrer told him.

As Roy was about to leave his office, the Fuhrer said to him, "Don't be too hard on yourself, Flame Alchemist. Remember, she is just a girl that a man can find anywhere on earth. Nothing important, right?"

Roy nodded, exited the office.

---x---x---

Sitting in a bar, Roy continuously smoked and drank. He was confused. Why did he involve with Winry the first place? He did it for the promotion, of course. He told the Fuhrer that he would make Winry willingly to sleep with him. Willingly…Winry did indeed willingly had sex with him. In fact, she was the one who brought it up. Did she willingly give in to him, or did he willingly give in to her? Whatever. But he never intended to love her. Winry was just his pawn to climb up to the top. Then, why was it so difficult for him when the Fuhrer asked him to leave her? Frustrated, Roy drank his sixth cup of beer.

"Hey colonel," a blonde man took the seat next to him. It was Havoc. "How was your day?"

"Good. Very Good. Excellent." Roy was completely drunk.

"You know, Therese is available tonight. She has a friend who is also free. What do you say, wanna play tonight?"

"You still with Therese?" Roy asked.

"Well, yeah! The girl is a great prize," Havoc lowered his voice. "Her body, God, she is a goddess! Unbelievable!"

"Are you still with her," Roy laughed drunkenly. "You still…still with her…Havoc, my man, let me tell you, she is not worth it…Do you know that she slept with me? That only makes her look better…we are men, good Havoc, we are men…the state comes first, then the superior, then the subordinates, then us. But women! They are just our sexual appetite at home!"

He said it a little too loud. Some female customers of the bar gave him glares and disapproving looks. The waitresses stayed away from him.

"Colonel, I think you are drunk," Havoc said with concern.

"No, not drunk at all…I'm all conscious…you know, those women, the ones with vagina…they are the ones who make us unconscious…they screw us with their sexy…sexuality…then they use us…they are the predators…we are the preys…"

"Colonel, come on, let's go," Havoc pulled him up.

"NO! I can drink! I'm a man!" Before he could say another word, he passed out.

---x---x---

Roy lied on his bed with a headache. Before he could say anything, he saw something, or he thought he saw something. A female figure. Milky skin, long blond silky hair, bright blue eyes, long legs, slim body, wearing a white sundress.Was it Winry? The figure finally came right in front of his eyes. It wasn't Winry.

"Colonel, you are awake," she told him.

Roy looked around. Everything was a blur. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. It was not his home. Everything looked white.

"Where…where am I?" he asked.

"You are in a hospital. Lt. Havoc brought you in last night. You were unconscious in the bar. You were drunk."

Roy said nothing more. He just waited for the nurse to leave. Quietly, he sank into his deep thoughts. Fell in love with Winry…Fell in love with Winry…Winry or the state…The state always comes first…always comes first…sacrifice…equivalent trade…

The thoughts were like stones that piled up in his head, giving him headaches. Should he break it with Winry? He never intended to stay with her. His passionate words in his letters were only used to attract her. And she fell for it. These words, were they just used to serve as a trap or did he really meant them? Being with Winry, how could it be different from being with other women? And why couldn't he break it with her?

Seduce Winry and be promoted…well, he got the written evidence that Winry slept with him. Now, he had to leave her in order to get his extra star. How should he leave her? Write her a letter, or go down to Resembool and tell her in person? How would she react? Does it even matter if she gone hysterical or broke down to tears?

No! Roy thought. I don't love her. I never intended to. I shouldn't. Fall in love with a woman, that'll make me weak. I won't be able to focus on my military duties. I will be thinking about her all the time…And I would actually turn down a promotion just for the sake of a woman? I would be a laugh-stock...

Roy made up his mind: he will go down to Resembool and tell Winry that he is over with her.

---x---x---

Winry was sitting quietly in the front porch. It had been three weeks since Roy left. She wrote to Roy many times. To her surprise, Roy did not reply. She became concerned. Did something happen to him? Was he called on some military mission? No, if so, he would tell me. She waited, but no word from Roy. Winry was so worried that she wanted to go to Central City to see him. But she didn't, because of her health. For some reason, she was somewhat ill lately. She was dizzy most of the time. She felt pain in her belly. She often skipped her meals. She didn't know why. She did not bother to see a doctor, because she thought it was not serious. The sickness comes and goes away, as usual.

Reading an automail magazine, Winry tried not to think about Roy. But she couldn't help it. Would Roy really come back to Resembool? He told her that he will. He wouldn't lie to her. After all, he loved her, or at least, Winry believed it so. While struggling with the thoughts of Roy, the sickness came to her again. She wanted to vomit. Quickly, she ran into the house and threw up in the toilet. What's happening to her?

After cleaned herself up, she decided to take some fresh air. When she came to the living room, she surprisingly found Roy standing right in front of her. At first, she thought she was dreaming.

"Roy?" she asked meekly. Slowly, she strolled up to him, and touched his face with her hand. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, who else could I be," Roy sounded rather annoyed.

"You didn't reply my letters, I thought something happened to you."

"It's military matter. The state comes first, then the superiors, then the subordinates, then myself…" he turned around and looked at her. "Then you."

Winry looked strangely at him. "What are you saying?"

Roy stared at her. He walked up to her, stroking her face with his ungloved hand. Then, suddenly, he sank down to his knees, wrapped his arms around her waist. Resting his head against her chest, he held her tightly as if it would be the last time.

"My angel, my sweet…I'm afraid…I'm afraid…"

"You acting like you won't see me again after this," Winry laughed, trying to hide her uneasiness.

"Yes, in fact," Roy got up and turned his back to her. "I won't be seeing you anymore."

"Why? You going on a mission?"

"Well," Roy sounded careless. "It's been five months. We wrote to each other. We slept together. We found happiness with each other. It's just like that musical play. Now, I think it's time to drop the curtain."

"Are you saying…that you don't want to be with me anymore?" Winry asked, her voice shaking.

"Now that you figured it out, I don't need to say anything else."

"You don't love me anymore?"

"I never loved you in the first place," Roy laughed, made Winry look ridiculous.

"You mean, all those words, all those passions, they…are fake?" Winry felt her body is falling apart.

"They were just words I copied from some romantic novels."

Winry was speechless. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because, I'm a man," Roy said, looked at her, lacked of emotion. "Men are predators. Women are their preys. Sometimes, it's just great to see the preys willingly to step into the traps themselves."

"I…I thought you loved me…" Winry was stunned. "Boy, you really have me fooled…you, you just a liar…you, liar!" Winry flew to him and threw her fists at him. Roy grabbed her shoulders and slapped her right across the face. Winry was froze by his action. There had been some bullies in the past who threatened her or said nasty words to her. But this was the first time that any man had actually hit her. Roy took this chance and shoved her on the floor.

Lying on the floor, Winry did not move. She could hear him walking closer to her. Was he going to kill her? She wished that he would. The pain and the suffering would end along with humiliation. Roy knelt down and pulled her head up by her hair.

"Are you going to kill me?" Winry asked, frightened.

"I will, if you dare to tell anyone about this. I will kill you, along with him!" With that said, he dropped her and left the house. Winry remained on the floor, sobbing. Roy could hear her. In fact, he could hear her even he was already miles away. His hands were shaking. Roy did not say a word. He just went down to the train station and returned to Central City. When he was at his office, he realized that his hands were hurting. He took off his gloves, and found marks on his palms. Perhaps he was making tight fists on his way back, so tight that the nails dug into his flesh. It hurt. Good, because it did help him feel better.

---x---x---

Hours went by, but Winry was still shaking. She was not well. She was scared, humiliated, hurt. She was afraid that Roy may enter her house any minute and shot her or set her on fire. She was played by this man whom she knew was a womanizer. How could she be so foolish to believe that he actually loved her. And how could she face Ed? And Al? She was in pain. She was not sure it was the result of heartbreak or it was her stomach. But she was in pain.

The door suddenly flew open. Winry startled.

"Winry, we're back!" A voice filled with joy cried out. It was Ed and Al. They came back to Resembool.

"Hey, where's Winry?" Al asked. "Winry, are you home?"

Hearing Al's voice, Winry tried to calm herself. She wanted to get up, but a sharp pain reflected when she moved. She nearly cried out.

"Ed, Al! I'm here!" she said weakly, tried to act as if nothing happened.

When Ed ran into the living room, he found Winry on the floor. He was shocked.

"Winry, what happened?"

"I'm…I'm fined Ed. Just got tired. Had a long day. I want to sit and relax. So…did you broke my precious automail again?"

Before Ed could answer, the door flew open. Winry gasped in fear.

"Is there someone at the door?" she asked, almost whispering.

"I'll go look," Alphonse said, went to the door. "It's just the wind."

"Yeah, you left the door open," Ed told her. Winry nodded. Then she shrieked.

"What's the matter Winry," Ed asked, worried. Somethings was wrong, he had noticed. Her eyes were red. Her face was pale. Her lips were shaking.

"There is no one at the door," Al said.

"No, it's not that…I'm bleeding!" Then the Elric brothers noticed. A stream of blood flowed out between her legs.

"Al! Get a doctor!" Ed shouted at the giant armor. He lifted Winry in his arm and carried her to the bed. In the agony of pain, Winry was screaming, out of pain and fear.

The doctor arrived, examined Winry. He asked her some questions. Winry gave him some replies. Her voice was low as a mosquito. Her eyes were blank. The doctor turned to Ed.

"There is something I have to ask you," he said to him. "Did you know that she was pregnant?"

"No.." Ed was stunned, so was Al. "How could she be pregnant?"

"You must understand, even you did use protection…"

"Hey, it wasn't me! I didn't do anything to her!"

"Then someone did. Miss Rockbell had a miscarriage."