Chapter 19: Alchemy's First Gift
"Anyone could agree that alchemy had been good to Ed, Al and I through the years but this was too much. Who knew that Alchemy had a mind of its own?"
-Winry Elric, Alchemy's First Gift, Chapter 19
(Oct. 3, 3028) Winry didn't seem nervous, I knew I was, and then there was Al, who was in horrible shape. He would have killed Winry provided I didn't protect her. It was hilarious because, well Al hurting Winry would make Al go into major panic mode, and we all no that's an even bigger danger.
I walked into our living room. Winry decided not to put the final touches on her dress until she came out, I thought it was perfect but Auntie said that I can't see the finished wedding dress until she comes down the isle in a few hours but I can handle that; Al can't handle anything, especially this wedding.
"Auntie Pinako, Winry's taking Ed away from me." Al said crying. You'd think we were 7.
"Al straighten up they're getting married for goodness sake, they aren't dying." Pinako yelled.
"But Winry and Ed will be gone and they're leaving me." I started laughing.
"It's okay Al, we promise to come back, it's only two weeks. I'm sure that you'll be fine."
"What about Ed?" Al continued crying.
"Al, I'm a big boy now, I can take care of myself. I'll be fine, I promise."
"Really?"
"Yeah Al, come on. I'm the FullMetal alchemist and she's a defensive alchemist and we have will alchemy; nothing can touch us." Winry giggled; I happened to agree this was silly as well, seriously but he is 3 years younger than me but it's no excuse.
"You can't take Ed from me." Al said about to attack Winry again.
"Ed, a little help here."
"Al, come on, it's 2 weeks, 14 days. You'll live, I promise." I reassured him again. Winry hid behind me, she was too gentle hearted when it came to reprimanding Al.
"You can't leave me here." Al said; I really thing he's a 7 year old and our child who has to stay at camp while his parents are gone but he's not and I won't let him act like it.
I couldn't take holding it in any more. "Al, you're going overboard, we're going to be gone for 2 weeks; not forever. It's not like we're moving away yet."
"You are leaving me, I knew it." Al said jumping up about to attack Winry. I do think Winry might cry if this continues very much longer, she's scared and Al's making her feel like it's her fault, and it's really mine. I just didn't expect him to react like this.
"Al, grow up." I yelled. Al burst out into tears and ran to his room. If he could do it as a suit of armor he could do it as human, except now he could feel; before he couldn't.
"Ed, I think you were a bit harsh with Al. I'll go talk to him."
'Winry are you sure that's a good idea?' that's what I wanted to say, but I said… "I guess."
(Winry VP) Ed was just trying to save Al from being too childish. Ed was right that Al needed to grow up, how could he if he was a suit of armor for 3 years. He had the mind of a 10 year old. I'm sure when I was 10 I acted the same way. Though, I know I didn't. When Al and Ed left, I just waited hoping they'd come back but they didn't; at least not because they were giving up. They came because they needed our automail work.
I knocked on Al's door. "Al, can I come in. I want to talk to you."
"No, stay out." I sighed, he was acting quite childish today. It's my wedding and our best man is pouting in his bedroom, I sighed again. Poor me.
"Don't make me break down this door Al!" I yelled. He walked over and opened the door. "What's wrong?"
"You and brother are leaving me."
"It's only for two weeks, Al. We're not going to leaving for the school for quite a long while."
"Why are you leaving?"
"First answer me this Al, when you get married in 5 and probably more years or so; won't you go anywhere you can to make each other happy and able to live with enough money and fixing for a home as you can?" I asked.
"I suppose so."
"Well Ed and I have to do the same. I make more off of Ed's automail then I do off of any customer ever. I also know that soon the threat posed by people will disappear and they'll stop paying me for protecting them. What then Al, you want me to let Grandma Pinako live in the dirt without food, Ed and I to have to go into the military just for food. We don't want to do it; we're going to the school to teach people 20 and up how to do alchemy. Okay?"
"But how have you been getting along now, without money?"
"Grandma gives me money if I need, the military for the training and protection I give them as well as money I saved from Ed's automail repairs. We can't always think of now, we have to think for the future. You saw how much better people are off with automail, especially those who are young and elderly; they need it but if they are hurt, they can't make it to Reisenbool. I'm going to start doing automail there too. Anything for the family."
"I'm sorry Winry but It's just I've never been without brother, except for a short while when he was taken, and I was lost. If he was to leave..."
"I understand but this time we're only a call or train ride away. You know we're alive and we'll visit. I know it's going to be as hard for you as it is for Ed; I know, trust me."
"Winry…" Al was crying, and he hugged me.
"It's okay Al," I hugged him back.
Hours past and I began to get nervous, but not as nervous as Ed was. Ed had locked himself in his room. I saw it as his way to make sure he doesn't go on a rampage or run away again. I was glad that he was doing that. I hoped a door would hold him.
I went and prepared the final decorations on the dress, the veil, and tiara. They looked beautiful on me. I'm sure Ed can't wait. Ed's doing okay as to holding in his excitement.
It was time, I came down the aisle and luckily for me, Ed was containing himself. He wasn't hiding it but containing it; he was doing well.
I stood there in front of all our friends, and to me, all the struggle was worth it. Ed seemed a bit, paranoid. He seemed like someone was going to kidnap me. I'd hope not but somehow I had a feeling, someone would try but with a room full of military officials, and Ed and Al there. Who would dare try? It was a risk only a idiot would attempt.
Our vows were written by Ed and myself. They usually didn't allow the couple to write their own vows but sometimes they did if they checked them over. "I, Edward Elric; hereby promise to guard my wife Winry with my heart, my soul, my body, my automail, and my and our alchemy; as long as forever is. No matter what happens I promise to be there for her whenever she needs me, no matter what the threat or price."
"I, Winry Rockbell; hereby promise to guard my husband Edward with all my heart, my soul, my body and my as well as our alchemy; as long as forever is. No matter what happens to him or myself I promise to fulfil my duties and be there for him no matter what happens, and anytime he needs me, if he's hurt or just needs help standing up."
"Winry Rockbell, do you take Edward to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do."
"Edward Elric, do you take Winry to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"Yes." I closed my eyes, and smiled at his unique answer.
"Then I pronounce you husband and wife." They clapped as Ed and I kissed. It wasn't like our first but nothing would be like that moment. And at that second; I felt something strange happen.
I opened my eyes and I looked at the clock it was 7:23, the day after the wedding. I looked around for Ed; I walked into a room and found him in pain. I ran there to his side and he was in so much pain. "It's gone."
"What?"
"My arm," I lifted the sheet wondering why there was no blood but I realized he had his normal arm back; it was human, back to normal.
"It's normal."
"No, it's strange." Ed answered. I playfully smacked him. "It hurts."
"It's just different, but how is the real question."
"I wish I knew." Ed answered.
"I think I know."
"You do?"
"Yeah, but I'm not going to tell you. I'm not sure and you don't need to know. We wouldn't want anyone else to either."
"Okay." I thought it would be harder, I honestly did. They searched for the thing to bring back their bodies, and Alchemic Way. For us, we kissed and his arm was back. I don't know but I think it was Alchemy, I saw the circle. It wasn't human transmutation. It was Will Alchemy but I know at that moment that was the last thing on either of our minds. I know that neither was Al from the outside bond.
Anyone could agree that alchemy had been good to Ed, Al and I through the years but this was too much. Who knew that Alchemy had a mind of its own? That's what I honestly believed. Alchemy took on specific things on it's own. At least that's what I found when I did alchemy. My alchemy never was specifically designed and thought of.
I looked on the floor and saw that there were bags packed, I doubted Alchemy would have done this. I guess the first 24 hours of our married life is equivalent exchange for Ed's arm. I honestly didn't know how but Will Alchemy didn't require equivalent exchange, Ed told me that equivalent exchange wasn't something still acting on an alchemic object but I believed it was. You kick a person, they feel pain; it's equal. Everything seems to be. Yet, love isn't. Maybe love was the exchange; the feeling of love is infinite so maybe a trade for some of the entirety was enough. Who knew?
"Winry, you ready to go." I nodded. We're a day late, but it's okay. I wondered one thing. I didn't want to ruin this but I knew if I didn't it would hurt him later.
"Ed, will you transmute this tray into a spoon for me?" He shrugged, I closed my eyes. He clapped his hands together and laid them on the tray. It didn't work, I didn't. I opened my eyes, and didn't see the spoon. You could see that Ed was confused, and a bit frightened.
"Let me try." I closed my eyes and focused on the metal tray, and it turned into a very deformed spoon, a very deformed spoon. "I never was good at transmuting metals. Give me a second. I have something to fix." Ed nodded, he was lost.
I walked outside the window. It might weaken me too much but with Ed two feet away through his window I should be alright. I formed the circle, and sat in it, clapped my hand, and then I did the Will Alchemy.
"Winry, where were you something's wrong with Ed. He's pouting and won't come out of his room." I hoped this worked. I clapped my hands and laid them on the wall, I squeezed the room into it was quickly shrinking. The room exploded back to normal size landing me in the floor of the living room.
"Winry, I did it."
"What brother?"
"Alchemy." He answered.
"Winry, I think you over did it when you tried to kill brother, wait. Why'd you try to kill brother?"
"I was testing Ed's skill, he passed." I smiled, and Ed was too.
"You are two strange people."
"Thanks." We said. We grabbed our bags and were off.
"We got to the fancy hotel and we spent a week the town of 'Zesiere'. It was a calm little town and Ed and I ate out slept in the hotel room, went sight seeing. Apparently both Ed and I had never been here and it was the largest city in the whole area, it was 4 days by train but it was worth it. It was a large city as in space but not many people.
We enjoyed the two weeks so much that with a little encouragement from Pinako and Al we decided to stay the rest of the month. Then we returned home. I was feeling sick. It wasn't anything I had ever felt before. Ed had warned me that am what I get for eating the foreign food, Ed ate foods that he was familiar with from travels while I ate anything that seemed exotic which I thought it was sick.
Ed and Al were talking about everything we saw during the day while we were there in the city. We pretty much didn't do much at night; we had dinner, walked around, talked and slept; nothing out of the normal.
"We're home." Ed called.
"Welcome back brother, I'm hope you had a good time."
"We sure did," Ed chimed.
"Winry?"
"It was a wonderful month, it was a beautiful city; I had a wonderful time with just Ed and I."
"Yep, how you feeling?"
"Not much better." Ed looked concerned.
"What's wrong with Winry?" Al asked.
"Foreign Food, it's got her sick to her stomach." Ed answered.
"Ed you should have…
"He did. I just wanted to experience all the food."
"Ed did too except he did all in one night."
"She took her time, she only had a little bit of it each night. You should go lie down, take something." I nodded and went to my bed. I screamed.
"Winry," Ed ran into the room and Al followed. Ed fell flat on his face, where another door used to be, was a wall which he smacked into.
"Do you like the surprise?" I nodded.
"Yeah, it'll take some getting use to but it's very nice Al thanks." I said.
"It's good you didn't hit the wall not watching where you were going like brother did." I giggled and smiled. Al had most likely using alchemy transmuted the house into this format, it was good because now Ed and I were sharing a room. I rested on the bed and I thought that if it was food sickness I should be over it by them, but I wasn't.
"Winry dear, are you okay?"
"No, I'm sick to my stomach."
Ed and Al were talking about everything we saw during the day while we were there in the city. We pretty much didn't do much at night; we had dinner, walked around, talked and slept; nothing out of the normal.
Pinako had found it to be that alchemy had actually rearranged my insides because of how the blood test seemed that the blood that was in my arm was drier then in my side. So the distance it had to travel was difference, I found it strange but an alchemic doctor told me that in 2 days I'd be fine, and I was.
I slept well for the last night in a week, because on the train ride over and the last two days I was sick to my stomach but now I was completely fine. "Winry, why do you think I got my arm back and I didn't have alchemy for a while?" Ed asked me.
"I'll tell you, Will Alchemy took care of your arm; how I don't know but I know that's how. Why is news to me, I guess destiny said that your sacrifice paid for itself and you needed a normal arm back. I think it's a fair trade. The Alchemy was gone because it was something that your new arm had to adjust to I think. I have a theory but don't think it matters."
"What?"
"Going over the gate allowed you without a circle we didn't try without it, so I think that it was that you had no direct with the gate any longer, but then a little will alchemy helped fix it back to normal."
"You mean?"
"Yeah, I used Will Alchemy to charge your alchemy so that you could do it. Don't thank me. Your face was enough of a scare to make me do it. It frightened me to see you like that. Alchemy has done so much for us in our lives; I don't think there's much I can do any longer."
"No, that's why I would have been sort of okay without it but not really. I couldn't defend you or help you with Will Alchemy without it so as soon as I thought about that I wondered if I could teach myself how to again, even if it was with a circle."
"Thanks but I fixed in, no worries for now. Night."
"Good-night Winry; thanks."
"You're welcome Edward."