Sometimes life gives you a second chance, or even two!
Not always, but sometimes.
It's what you do with those second chances that counts.
-Dave Wilson
Amelia was escorted back to the estate with the Major, and also escorted to her room. She stayed in there, keeping the light off as she waited in the darkness, her eyes focused mainly on the clock on the wall. She checked the time, watching slowly from her window as other lights were doused from their shadows on the grass through their windows. She waited a few hours, and she rubbed at her eyes, growing more tired with every hour, but if she was going to do this, she had to be patient. She had to be sure that no one else would be awake.
Finally, the old clock in her room let out a soft chime as it struck 2 AM. She tiptoed to the door of her bedroom and listened through the crack. She couldn't hear anything, and she slowly opened the door to peek out into the hallway. It was almost completely pitch black, but her eyes adjusted to the dark and she was able to make out a few things here and there. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stepped out of her room, making her way down the hall as quietly as possible, her hands moving along the wallpaper and feeling for the wooden doors of each room. She couldn't see them, but she knew that her teacher's room was down the hall, past the left-turning corner, and three doors down from that on her left.
She walked carefully, hearing nothing but silence ringing in her ears with each step. She was only in socks to keep her steps quiet, knowing her shoes would have been heard, though she was still walking on just carpet. She slowly rounded the corner, and paused at the sight of a window. She could see the moonlight pouring through it, letting her see the other doors there, as well as the small, decorative tables that held elegant vases filled with beautifully extravagant bouquets. She could see all of it, as well as the door that led to Alex's room. She glanced down the hallway, listening for a minute or two, holding her breath as she waited for any sign that someone else was nearby that could see her. She tried to steady her breathing so her heart would calm down, but it was still too excited to try.
When she was confident that there was no one else, she stepped into the moonlight from the window and quietly made her way around the furniture to Alex's room, reaching for the handle and slowly opening it. When she heard the hinges creak, she froze and waited. Inside, she could hear the Major's snoring, and she waited for any sign that she had interrupted his sleep, but none came and she let out an internal sigh of relief before opening the door a little faster, so the creaks in the hinges wouldn't be noticed before she closed it. She took a moment to adjust her eyes to the room that Major Armstrong had. She hadn't been in here before, but she was somewhat glad he slept with his curtains open since it made it that much easier to see. Part of her wondered why he did, but it was probably so he could "Rise with the sun as any great Armstrong!" or something like that.
She looked around the room, not seeing the map anywhere in any specific location. However, she did see his dresser, a wardrobe, and he had two separate nightstands, all with drawers big enough to store it. She didn't see it resting on any table, so it looked like she'd have to search for it. She looked over at her sleeping teacher, who was still snoring away in dreamland, his back perfectly straight with blankets up to his chest, though his arms rested outside the blanket. She tried not to pay him much mind, though she always listened for his snoring as she went to the wardrobe first. She opened up the doors for the cabinet, seeing some jackets hanging up, some were uniform, some weren't. Looking down at the bottom, she could see some expertly shined shoes and boots. But nothing that looked like the map. She closed the doors and went through the drawers, only to find more military uniforms with some collared shirts and tasteful slacks.
When she finished with the wardrobe, she tiptoed to the dresser, making sure that her shadow didn't move over her teacher's sleeping face as she crept in front of the window. A peek outside and she couldn't see anyone out in the courtyard that the window faced. And no other lights were on either. Good.
She went to the dresser, her hands moving over the top of it, finding no map. She opened up the drawers to find some pajamas, some more casual shirts, socks and underwear, the usual stuff. She paused when she saw something in the back corner and reached for it, finding it was a wig stuffed into a hairnet. It was a long, flowing wig not unlike the hair of his father. She glanced back at her snoring teacher, wondering just what on earth he had a wig for, but she figured it was a question better left unanswered and put it back. Still, the mental image of Armstrong sharing his father's long hair haunted her.
When the dresser gave her nothing, she stood up and made her way over to his desk, looking over the surface, careful not to mess with the inkwells he had or the feather quills - he apparently liked to write in style - she found a few letters with names of people she didn't know on them and left them alone. No map still.
She jumped when she heard a grunt and froze, looking over at her teacher as he stopped snoring, and for a few brief seconds, she feared for her life, only for him to start again as normal. She slumped her shoulders in relief before looking around the room - the only place left for him to put it was in the nightstands by his bed. She had been hoping he wouldn't have done that since it would mean getting close to where he was, and if he woke up she would definitely be caught. She wasn't sure what kind of punishment she could see if she was caught sneaking around in his room. They might just void her deal and throw her in jail to serve out her sentence for trespassing, and for breaking and entering on top of it. She didn't want to think about it, and she was as quiet as possible as she slowly made her way over to the nightstand to slowly open the drawer.
She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the gentle chiming of a wall clock just above it, signaling that it was now 3 AM, and she had been searching for an hour. She ducked down at the noise, hiding at the side of the bed, but Armstrong made no sign that he was waking up. She waited a minute more before she stood up again and opened the drawer, seeing that it had some letters here, some photos there, a letter opener, some cologne, some hair curlers- wait, what? She picked up one of them curiously, looking over at her teacher, and she had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing when she realized he was already wearing one. He curled that tiny bit of hair on his head every night! She felt her shoulders shake as she tried to hold her voice back, but she put the curler back and left it be. Okay, so this nightstand didn't have the map, that meant the only one left was the other one on the other side.
She moved around the bed, but stopped when she heard his snoring stop with a grunt, and she dropped to the floor to hide from his sight. She grew nervous when the snoring didn't start again, but she couldn't really hear any movement like him getting out of bed. She waited tensely for a minute, then another minute, and she wondered if he just… stopped snoring. She peeked around the corner of the bed. She didn't see him getting up, but she did see his hand hanging off the side of the bed. It wasn't moving, either. Did he just move in bed? She slowly lifted her head, seeing that he was still asleep, though in a slightly less dignified position than the stiff-straight board position he'd had before. She slowly got back on her feet and went over to the other nightstand. She glanced at him, noticing he had a furrowed brow and his teeth were clenched. She could hear him grinding them and she felt a disgusted shiver go down her spine at the sound. It sounded so painful! She looked at him, noticing how his body was tense, and she guessed he was having a nightmare of some kind.
She looked back at the other nightstand, starting to slowly open the drawer, but she heard something clattering inside it and she hissed out a curse as she reached in to grab the little round object that was making the noise. She jumped when a hand suddenly shot up from the bed and she felt all the blood leave her face as she looked at the wide knuckles that held a grasp on her arm. This was it. She was going to jail for the rest of her life. She would never see sunlight again. She was frozen in fear, unable to look at anything other than her teacher's hand as it held to her forearm tightly, but not enough to hurt. She stared at it, and then up at him, expecting to see him scowling or frowning in disappointment, or maybe even angry, but it was nothing like that. His eyes didn't really… look at her. They were unfocused, half-lidded, but his expression was like he was in pain. She stood still as she looked at him, wondering if, by some luck, he was asleep still?
"I'm… sorry." He said in a slurred, almost whispering voice, "I couldn't save you…I couldn't get you out…"
Oh, thank god. He was talking in his sleep, he was still dreaming. She felt immense relief flooding through her, but she wasn't sure how to respond. Who had he been trying to save? Or get out? Of where? She had so many questions, but she wasn't sure how to really respond. She reached for his hand on her arm, gently moving her hand over his knuckles. She said the only thing she thought would fit for him, "It's okay…" She whispered soothingly, "It's okay, you can rest now…" And he almost looked like he was about to cry for a moment, but he slowly relaxed, his hand slipping away from her arm. Amelia was frozen as she looked at him as he lay there, his arm hanging off the side of the bed again, the other one loosely gripping at the blankets. She almost jumped out of her skin when he started snoring again, but it was a sign that he was sleeping like normal again. She relaxed for a moment before she looked back at the nightstand.
She still held the little noisy object that had kept her from opening the drawer quietly, and as she looked at it, it was another cologne bottle. She still held onto it as she opened the drawer the rest of the way, finding a book she couldn't read in the dim light of the room, some watches and cufflinks that had been neatly organized in a velvet holder, and a hand-held mirror. But still no map. Her brow furrowed and she glanced at her teacher's sleeping form. If he wouldn't put it away in a drawer, where would he have put it? She tried to think of it as she slowly put the cologne bottle back in the drawer, closing it as slowly as possible to keep it from rolling around and making noise.
She looked around his room once it was shut. If I were Alex Louis Armstrong of the Armstrong family, where would I put a map? She thought to herself, trying to think. I would put it somewhere I would know to find it, somewhere I could reach it, but some place that wouldn't be easy for someone else to figure out… She looked towards the wardrobe, and she tilted her head slightly, seeing something at the top of it. Like someplace only I could reach because of my massively unnatural seven-foot height. She went over to the wardrobe, getting up on her tiptoes to reach for the little corner of the paper, but she wasn't tall enough. She looked around the room for something she could use as a booster. There wasn't really a convenient table or chair that she could pick up. But there was some in the hallway. She went to the door, opening it quickly and holding the handle to make sure it didn't slam into the wall and make unnecessary noise.
She went to one of the tables that held the elegant vase with the extravagant bouquet and carefully took the vase off and onto the floor. It took some effort to pick up the table that was as wide around as she could reach, but she managed. It was a lot heavier than she thought it would be, but she still managed to carry it into her teacher's bedroom, still hearing him snoring away in his dreams. She closed the door behind her and moved the table to the side of the wardrobe. The surface of it was slick and polished, so as a safety precaution, she took off her socks before she climbed up on it. She slowly stood, smiling when she was able to stand just a head over the wardrobe with the table, and see the map resting at the top of it. She slowly slid the piece of paper off and started to carefully fold it up so it could fit in her pocket before she climbed down.
She picked up the table, planning on putting it back in place so no one would notice it was gone and went to the door. She opened it but froze when she saw two familiar faces on the other side.
"Good evening, Miss Seymour." The twins said in hushed voices that she found far too creepy for her liking.
"Um… hi." She whispered awkwardly. The twins' expressions were hard, and she knew she was in trouble. "Just… let me put the table back, at least."
"What were you doing in here?" Delilah (or Dianna?) asked her in a quiet voice, ushering her out of the room and motioning to leave the table behind.
"You are not to leave your room after bedtime, Miss Seymour." Dianna (or Delilah) said.
"I was… looking for something." Amelia said sheepishly. Her hand felt the map in her back pocket, as it if was burning a hole through the fabric. If she admitted to what she was doing, they would take it away from her. She technically was trying to make an escape attempt… Still, if she said it was to go the fifth lab instead of out of the country, would that be better or worse for her? She imagined she would still be in trouble regardless. She looked up to see the twin maids tilting their heads in opposite directions, obviously wanting to know what she had been looking for. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the map she had taken, and Dianna took it from her, unfolding it to see what it was.
"We will report this to Master Alex in the morning." She said, "You will be locked in your room for the remainder of that time until he has decided on the appropriate punishment." Amelia looked down at the floor, feeling guilty since they had caught her. The two maids took her by one elbow each and walked her back to her room before letting her go inside alone. She heard them closing the door, and hearing a lock slide in place, followed by another one. She jumped when she saw sparks and looked back to recognize the light of a transmutic reaction. Were Delilah and Dianna alchemists? She'd had no idea… Still, now she was sealed in with alchemy, and there was no way she was going to get out of her room now.
She went over to her bed, the scenarios of what awaited her coming to mind. Alex was a no-nonsense kind of guy, valuing integrity, virtue, loyalty, all that good stuff. He would probably report it to his superiors right away… She could already picture Lieutenant Colonel Hughes coming into her room the next morning with a pair of guards and wooden handcuffs to keep her hands separated from making transmutations. She pictured being dragged off to prison, shut inside a tiny cell with a stiff cot and a metal toilet, remembering her cell that she had been placed in at the start. She started to sniffle, and then she started to cry as she realized all of her work in alchemy, all of that work in trying to keep herself on their good side, all that work in trying to get out of here with an easy deal, was gone in an instant.
She lay on the bed and started to sob, wishing more than ever that she could just magically return home to her own bed, her parents, her house. Everything that she had known and loved was there, but now she would probably never see it again until she was a middle-aged woman. There was nothing she could do to make this better, and she knew there was no way she could escape. She was doomed. Completely and utterly doomed.
She cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, she woke up an hour later than she would have normally been. She got to sleep in because no one came to get her. She sat up on the bed, rubbing away the sleep and the tears that had crusted over her eyes. She hoped no one would come for her. She was so afraid of what she would face if someone came. Maybe Armstrong was already reporting this to his boss, she would probably be arrested in a few hours. She slumped over and lay on the bed. She wanted to enjoy this softness as much as she could before she was forced onto a cot or just a wooden slab for a bed. She took one of her pillows and hugged it close, hoping it would provide her some comfort in this situation, but it only made her feel alone. Alone, with no family, no friends, and no one to support her, or try to help her.
She started to cry again as she felt more alone than she had in her entire life. Alex's sisters probably knew what happened. She doubted they would come to her defense after finding out she had tried to escape. She was primarily Alex's burden, so they would let him deal with it. She knew she was going to prison, she knew. The deal was off. She was doomed to prison for ten years, maybe longer because she tried to leave. Would they imprison her for life? Maybe, if they were that strict on trespassing on military property, why not jail her for the rest of her life for going against their deal? She wasn't sure how long she stayed in bed, just crying and wallowing in her loneliness and misery, she could hardly hear the chiming of the clock in her room.
She jumped when she heard the locks on the door sliding open, and she quickly sat up and wiped at her eyes as she watched the light from a transmutation come through the crack before the door was opened up by Alex, coming in with a tray of food and bringing it over to her. His face was harder than she had ever seen it, and she didn't question it as she looked down at the tray. It was some waffles with syrup. She thought that was nice of him, to give her something sweet. It would probably be the last sweet thing she would eat for a long while.
"You've been crying," He said as he looked at her.
"Yes," She didn't see any point in denying it when he could clearly see it on her face. There was silence for a few more moments, with Alex standing above her, and Amelia looking down at the tray of food since she couldn't get up the courage to look him in the eye.
"You should eat before they get cold," Armstrong said, stepping away to find a chair, and Amelia nodded silently before she started cutting into it, taking off a bite and eating slowly. She wanted to avoid this conversation as much as possible, so if eating breakfast slow helped with that, she would do it. She glanced up when she saw her teacher bringing a chair over by her bed, to sit across from her as she ate. She couldn't look at him, feeling her courage withering away, thinking he was staring her down as she slowly took a bite of the waffle. "Delilah and Dianna told me that you attempted to steal a map and escape, is that true?"
Amelia was quiet for a long while, swallowing the bite in her mouth as she tried to think of what she could say. She could tell him that the twins were wrong, and they were lying and had done this with no real point, that they had threatened her to a point where she started crying, but she doubted he would believe any of it. She had only known him for a few weeks, those twins had been around for much longer than she had. "Yes, it's true. But I wasn't trying to escape the country." She lifted her head as she defended herself, though, at the sight of Armstrong's hardened gaze, she ducked her head down again.
"Then where were you going?" He asked her. She didn't know if he was doing this to give her the benefit of the doubt, or he was actually curious.
"I was going to go to the Fifth Laboratory." She said honestly, "I wanted to see if I could find any leftover research material on the philosopher's stone, or maybe a stone itself…"
"Why would you want that?" Armstrong asked, "Are you planning to sell that information to our country's enemies?"
"No! God, no." She lifted her head again, "I was going to use it myself, so I can get home and get out of here." She said, and her teacher still stared her down, but she had to at least tell him the truth, she wasn't sure he would believe anything she said, but it was better than not trying at all. "I don't know how I got here, I don't know what it would take to get me home, and I don't know how equivalent exchange works in cases where someone wants to teleport, but I know I'm not a good enough alchemist to do it entirely on my own! If that lab was the place where they studied it and made it, I thought maybe there was a chance one was left over and I could use it. Hell, an incomplete philosopher's stone had to help somewhat! I just wanted to find one so I can go home and get out of this place so I can have my life back!" She could feel a lump forming in her throat as she spoke, her vision getting blurry as tears started to well up, "I want to go home to the place where I don't feel monitored every second of my life! I hate that I can't do anything here without someone's permission ahead of time! I hate that I'm not a free person anymore, and it's all for something I didn't even do! None of this was my fault, but I'm being punished for it!" She felt the tears spilling down her cheeks, and her voice was growing hoarse, but she didn't stop, "I'm so tired of feeling like a prisoner! I hate that I got arrested for someone else's mistake, I hate that I'm stuck here, and I know you're going to just throw me in jail for this, so why the hell are you asking me all these stupid fucking questions and just arrest me already!?" Her hands slammed down on the tray, the plate and the waffles clattering to the carpeted floor with the silverware. She let the tray fall after a moment as she reached up to hide her face as she sobbed, not wanting him to see her tears, though it was pointless.
She couldn't control herself, and she kept sobbing, bending over her lap as she cried. She felt a hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing it and giving her some kind of comfort. She reached up and smacked his hand away angrily, "Stop! Don't pretend like you care!" She snarled at him, gasping for breath as she still cried, "Don't pretend that this is just going to go away or whatever! God, I hate that you would do that! Don't pretend like you're suddenly on my side! You fucking asshole! You don't have to make this worse by making me think you suddenly care!"
"Amelia," He spoke her name in such a calm voice that she stopped for a moment, "Please, take a breath. I know that you are scared, but you will not be arrested."
She quieted, calming down as he told her the words she wasn't sure she heard right, "I'm… not getting arrested?" She asked her voice breaking, her breaths still coming out shaky.
"No, you are not." He assured her, his hand reaching for her shoulder again, "But if you are scared, you may cry. It's better to let it out than to keep it inside of you." She shook her head slowly, not really feeling the need to cry now that she knew she wasn't going to be arrested, reaching up to scrub at her cheeks and her eyes to try and dry them. "I understand that you want to go home, and I understand why you would look for the Philosopher's Stone. You are desperate, and it was an opportunity that presented itself."
She wasn't sure what to say as she listened to him speak. He… understood? He wasn't angry? Why? She had done something that was clearly in violation of the agreement that allowed her to stay here, "Then… what's going to happen?" She asked.
"What is going to happen is that we will increase security measures." Armstrong said, "You will be under constant surveillance, and we will be placing you in handcuffs for some time. We can't risk you escaping again." She nodded numbly. "And we are going to talk about what happened so that I can help you to understand that I want to trust you, just as I want you to trust me."
"...Why?" Her hoarse question came out of her throat automatically.
"Because I know that there is the potential to be a good soldier in you." He said, and he gave her the smallest of smiles, "I know that there is a good person that tried to save the Elric brothers. But I need you to trust in the methods of the state, and you need to understand that you cannot be free until such a time as you have passed your certification exam." His smile fell and he pulled his hand away from her shoulder.
"You might be a little too trusting…" She said as she looked up at him, watching him stand up.
"Perhaps, but are you going to fight this new security measure?" He asked, and Amelia shook her head negatively. "And why is that?"
"I don't want to go to actual jail." She said simply, she frowned as a thought came to mind, "Are you… is this you giving me a second chance?"
Armstrong nodded, "Yes, and you will be able to redeem yourself if you prove to me that you are dedicated to your studies. But, of course, we will not be allowing you to transmute anything. You understand?"
"Yes." she nodded and he did the same.
"Good. Now," He reached for the fallen tray and the plate, seeing syrup stains on the carpet. "I will go and have your breakfast re-made. There's no point in learning on an empty stomach." She watched as he stood with the remains of the food she'd thrown to the floor, leaving it to rest on the chair for a moment before he reached behind him and brought out a pair of wooden handcuffs, "Hold out your hands." She let out a sigh as she held out her wrists, letting him lock her hands inside them. "You will be confined to your room until such a time as I deem it safe for you to leave."
"Okay," She said, looking down at her hands as he picked up the tray again.
"I will return in a few moments." He said, and he went to the door, she could hear it locking behind him, though he didn't seal it with alchemy. No point, seeing as she couldn't use it while she was in handcuffs.
Once he was gone, Amelia let the relief sink in. She wasn't going to be arrested, not yet. By some insane miracle, he was giving her a second chance. She didn't know why, and she didn't care, as long as the deal wasn't off the table. She lay back on the bed, letting her body relax now that there wasn't a reason to be scared. She wondered if part of this was him taking pity on her because she was so young? If it was, that was good.
But after all of that, after trying to escape and getting caught, she knew they had more security measures in place than what she had seen. Delilah and Dianna must have known that she snuck out when they caught her, they might have been monitoring her. She wondered if it would just be more obvious that they were watching her now that the escape attempt had failed.
In any case, she didn't want to take any more risks in escaping, at least not anytime soon. She needed to cooperate with these people, and she needed to have her chance to be a free citizen again at some point soon.
Through the rest of the day, she was in handcuffs as she was brought to a private room to study alchemy. She wasn't allowed to do any transmutations, and her handcuffs were not at all removed at any part. She studied still, wanting to make good on this show of good faith that Armstrong seemed to have in her. She didn't want to go to jail and ruin her deal, but a part of her also didn't want to disappoint him more than she had already. She still thought he was a little stupid to trust her, but even so she was immensely relieved that he had. She could deal with handcuffs if it meant she could still sleep in that goose down bed and eat the same meals as the rest of the rich family, though she was to eat them privately from now on. With a security monitor on her at all times until she was finished. She was confined to her room with the exception of her lessons, though when she returned, she noticed the windows had been reinforced, and a lock had been placed on the door. It was a nice prison cell, with a luxurious bed and furniture, but it was her new prison cell nonetheless.
The day went on without incident, and she was a little annoyed by the handcuffs but didn't voice her complaint. She wanted to take advantage of this second chance, though she was sure it would be a long while before anyone came to trust her again. She went to bed, with a monitor waiting for her to change into her loaned pajamas before they took her out of her handcuffs and let her go to bed. She rubbed at her wrists, listening as she heard the deadbolt of the new lock sliding in place, and seeing the light from a transmutation, meaning the door was sealed alchemically. She noticed a change in the color of the wood, so she had to guess they changed it to something she wouldn't be able to recognize easily, and therefore not be able to transmute it as easily as she would her own door.
The next morning, it began as it did yesterday, with someone bringing her breakfast, and putting her in handcuffs. She ate in silence, and when she finished she left to do her lesson with Armstrong, but they were stopped by one of the servants.
"Master Alex, you have a telephone call from Sergeant Brosh," He said, holding up the phone on a platter to him, which he took.
"Sergeant? What seems to be the matter?" He asked, and his eyes widened as he listened to the words on the other line that Amelia couldn't hear. "...I see. And the Elric brothers?" He was quiet again, and Amelia's brow furrowed, coming up beside him.
"What happened?" She asked in a quiet voice, only to be met with Armstrong's hand coming up in front of her face, a signal to be quiet a little longer.
"I see. And when is her train arriving?" He asked, and he seemed satisfied with the answer, "Very well. Inform Edward Elric that I will be able to pick her up from the train station."
"Pick up who?" Amelia asked, and was met with the same gesture before he hung up. "What happened?"
"It seems it is a good thing that you did not go to the Fifth Laboratory." Armstrong said, turning to his student, "Apparently, an accident occurred as the Elric brothers were investigating, and there was an explosion that turned the entire building to rubble." Amelia's eyes widened at the news.
"Jesus Christ, how did that happen?" She asked.
"No one knows for certain," He said, "But the Elric brothers were injured, Edward is currently in the hospital, and his automail arm is no longer functioning. We will be going to pick up Miss Winry when she arrives to do a service call tomorrow morning."
"We?" Amelia repeated, "As in you and me?"
"Yes, you and I," Armstrong said, and he continued down the hallway with the servant giving a small bow before he left, with Amelia trailing behind him.
"Um, not that I'm upset or anything - believe me I'm thrilled to get out of this house for a while - but isn't that kind of…? I don't know, I think most people would call that a stupid move after an escape attempt." She pointed out, a little surprised he was letting her go.
"There's something I want to see." He said vaguely, and Amelia could only assume that he meant he wanted to see her, and how she would do outside of the house with just his supervision. It was probably a test of his trust in her, and she thought that was kind of stupid since she only tried to escape two days ago, but she wasn't about to argue if it meant a chance to get out before being shut up in the house for weeks or months on end.
The next day, Amelia had her handcuffs put on, ate her breakfast, and made her way with Armstrong to the train station to pick up Winry. It was crowded, and Amelia was still in handcuffs, but she stayed close to Armstrong. She didn't want to fail his test and make good on this second chance. She glanced at the train schedules as she walked behind him though, seeing a lot of names of towns she didn't recognize and trains coming in for them. Looking at them, she was sure she would have no idea where she would even go if she were to get on a train. She didn't know the country at all, and she had no idea where she would even begin to go.
She stood next to Armstrong, trying to look through the crowds of people to find Winry as the train from Resembool came in. Armstrong stood over the crowd easily, so she was sure he would find her first. She looked around and happened to meet eyes with a couple at the station. One was a tall man, as big as Armstrong, with muscles showing from under his shirt and a full beard, his expression hard and intimidating. The woman beside him was smaller, pale, with black hair pulled back into what Amelia could only assume were cornrows. The woman gave her an odd look, glancing down at Amelia's handcuffs. She scowled back at her and turned away, focusing on looking through the crowd of people.
"Are you sure this is her train?" She asked her teacher.
"Edward told us to wait by the western exit for her…" He said, looking over the crowd, "Oh, I see her."
"Hello, Major Armstrong! It's Winry!" Amelia heard her voice call out, watching as a few people moved away as Winry ran over to them. She wasn't wearing the coveralls that Amelia remembered, but a skirt with a matching jacket and a white tank top. On her back was a massive red metal box that she could only assume was Winry's tool kit.
"Hello, Miss Winry, did you have a pleasant trip?" Armstrong asked, and Amelia expected her to make a comment about her handcuffs, but Winry wasn't looking at either of them, looking one way and another for something.
"Where are those stupid Elric brothers?" She asked after a moment, sounding a little surprised they weren't here. Amelia's eyebrows rose at her words.
"He didn't tell you?" She asked her, and Winry looked at her with a confused frown and a slightly furrowed brow.
"Tell me what?" Winry really didn't know, and Amelia was a little surprised that Edward didn't know why he couldn't meet her at the train station. When Amelia didn't answer her question, Winry looked up at Major Armstrong expectantly, and he shifted his shoulders awkwardly, not wanting to have been the one to deliver the news.
"Well, you see…" He leaned down to whisper in her ear about how Edward was doing, and Winry's eyes went wide in horror.
"The hospital?! What happened?!" She almost shrieked the word out and Armstrong gently shushed her as a few people looked their way. She noticed and she quieted, "Can you take me to them?"
"We are here to be your escorts, Miss Winry," Armstrong said, starting to walk, and Amelia trailed behind him, with Winry walking beside her.
"Do you know what happened?" Winry asked, and Amelia shrugged, reaching up to scratch at her nose, the handcuffs coming up with her, and Winry looked at them with wide eyes, noticing them for the first time.
"Not exactly. I know there was a building and it was kind of destroyed, I don't know what's up with the Elric brothers." She said apologetically as she moved her hands down. Winry still stared down at the cuffs and Amelia followed her gaze before frowning a little.
"...Why are you in handcuffs?" She asked, looking back up at her.
"Well, the short version is that these are increased security measures." She said, shaking her hands inside their bonds noisily to make her point.
"Security measures for what? Did you hurt someone?" Winry asked, stepping a little bit away from Amelia to get some more space from her, a little wary.
"No, I tried to steal a map from Armstrong's room," Amelia said.
"That seems a little harsh just for trying to steal something like that…" Winry said as the three of them headed out, Armstrong listening in on the girl's conversation as he walked to the waiting car for them.
"Not really, when you consider the circumstances." Amelia said, looking down at her handcuffs, "Honestly, I'm amazed he didn't just send me off to jail for it."
"What?" Winry seemed really confused and concerned, "Why would you go to jail over a map? That seems really, really strict!" She looked up at Armstrong as he turned around to open the car door for them, "Is this how you teach all of your alchemy students?"
"Well, no, but Amelia's case is a bit different… Did Edward not tell you?" He asked.
"Tell me what? If he didn't tell me he was in the hospital, I doubt he'd tell me whatever it is you're talking about!" Winry said, starting to get a little frustrated.
"Winry," Amelia got her attention, "Didn't Edward tell you that I'm technically a convicted felon?" Winry's eyes widened and she looked Amelia up and down as if seeing her in a new, unusual light. "Look, let's just get in the car." She let out a resigned sigh, guessing that this was going to be an interesting conversation on the way to the hospital. Winry slid in next to her while Major Armstrong took the driver's seat and made his way to the hospital.
"So… what are you convicted for?" Winry asked, still keeping a little distance in case Amelia had done something dangerous.
"I am considered guilty of the terrible crime of trespassing on military property," Amelia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Winry's shoulders slumped a bit at the anti-climactic answer.
"Wait, that's it?" She asked.
"Yeah, I cut a deal where, so long as I learn alchemy and become a state-certified alchemist, I don't have to go to jail." She said, "But this all hinges on the fact that I need to actually pass the certification, so Armstrong is my alchemy teacher." She leaned back into her seat. She wasn't entirely comfortable in the car since none of the models she found had seatbelts. She didn't feel safe.
"How often do they do that?" Winry asked, and Amelia shrugged in response.
"I don't know. I'm guessing I'm a special exception because my trespassing was related to alchemy." She said, "But that's a story for another time." She waved off the explanation, not wanting to have to spend the entire car trip telling her about it. "Would you believe the penalty for trespassing is ten years in prison? Don't you think that's a little extreme?"
"It does seem like a little much…" Winry couldn't help agreeing, "What's the penalty for trespassing on just private property?" She asked, turning to Armstrong at the front of the car.
"I believe the utmost penalty is a fine of 50,000 cens." He replied.
"What?! Private property gets a fine, but military property is jail time?!" Amelia couldn't help but feel there was a great prejudice with the difference in penalties, "Doesn't that seem like a massive difference to you?"
Armstrong let out a hum, "It's never occurred to me before. Perhaps I should speak to the higher generals about that odd difference."
"Please do." Amelia huffed as she leaned back in her seat. Winry shifted a little in her seat, her tool box making a little noise and Amelia glanced over at it. "So, what all's in there, anyway?"
"Oh, just about every kind of thing I might need for Ed's automail without an actual replacement." Winry said nonchalantly, "Lots of wrenches and screwdrivers, his arm should be an easy enough fix…" She just hoped he wouldn't get on her about forgetting that screw that caused his arm to stop working. And now that he was in the hospital… she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. What if he had gotten really badly hurt because his automail wasn't working? He said he'd been in a fight, what if the person he was fighting had taken advantage of his arm stopping? "Do you know how bad it is?"
Amelia shook her head, "No, I haven't seen him. But I assume he's still the pissy little fireball that he regularly is, despite all of this."
"I guess…" Winry said quietly. Amelia was a little curious about her quietness, given how she seemed so… energetic when she saw her in Resembool, but she hadn't known her very long, so she decided not to push anything.
Soon enough, they arrived at the hospital, with Armstrong escorting both of them down the halls to Edward's room. When they came in, they saw Edward with bandages around his head, his arm, and they could see plenty around his ribs since he was without a shirt. He had been talking to Sergeant Brosh when they came in, with him and Lieutenant Ross saluting the Major in greeting. At the sight of Ed, Winry felt her arms give way and her toolbox clattered on the floor as she stared at him. The noise startled everyone and put their attention on her.
"Well… that didn't take long." Edward said, his expression looking a little anxious as he looked down at the toolbox, "You're gonna charge me an express service fee now, aren't you?"
Winry looked over the bandages, seeing how badly he was hurt, feeling guilt flooding through her body and weighing down her shoulders. She hung her head as she looked down at the floor, mentally cursing herself for letting Edward get hurt like this because she hadn't done her job properly, "No, I… I won't charge you for this." She said in a quiet voice, "I didn't do a good enough job on your automail last time… and now you're badly injured."
Amelia was a little surprised that she was blaming herself for this, and everyone looked at Edward to see his response to how this seemingly innocent girl was blaming herself for injuries that Ed received. He looked around to see them all staring at him, and he got a little flustered before he started quickly trying to cheer her up and comfort her, "I-It's not your fault! You can't blame yourself for this! I broke it because I was being reckless!" Edward said quickly, "Your repairs were flawless as ever! This is all my fault!" He let out an awkward laugh as he finished.
He has no idea… Winry realized as she listened to him, He never noticed I forgot to put in that screw.
"Besides, if my arm hadn't broken when it did," Edward continued, "I would have kept fighting and then I would have been hurt even worse! So, don't worry about it, okay? Okay?" He looked at her with an anxious grin, unsure if anything he was saying was actually working since she didn't seem to be doing anything in response.
So… it turned out alright? Winry thought, getting a mischievous gleam in her eye at the knowledge that her mistake wasn't caught. She grinned and came up to Edward's bed, looking more energetic than ever. "Well then, let's go ahead and get right down to business, shall we?" She asked, her teeth showing in her wide grin, "I'll have to charge you the usual rush order fee, of course."
"Huh?" Edward was a little dumbstruck at how quickly Winry's mood had changed from being depressed and guilt-ridden to so energetic and eager to work. He wasn't really sure what to say, and most others in the room shared in that gobsmacked feeling of confusion.
Winry looked over at the hospital tray that was empty of food, save a bottle of milk. She frowned at the sight and then looked back at him, "You didn't drink your milk." Edward looked away stubbornly with a scowl on his face.
"Why should I? I hate it." He muttered.
"You're going to be small and stunted forever if you keep using that stupid excuse!" Winry snapped at him, reaching out to pinch at his cheek. Being called the 's' word made Edward's temper flare up very quickly.
"SHUT UP! I DON'T HAVE TO DRINK IT IF I DON'T WANNA!" He snapped back, pushing her hand away.
"You sound like a spoiled little brat, Edward Elric!" Armstrong put in, taking off his shirt and striking a pose, "Milk helps to create a strong powerful body like mine!"
"Ugh!" Amelia reached up to push his uniform off of her head where it had landed and threw it back on her teacher's body.
"Every growing boy needs his milk." Lieutenant Ross agreed with her superior officer.
"Yeah! You want the girls to like you, don't you?" Sergeant Brosh asked.
The conversation paused when the door to the room shut, making everyone look up. Had it been open all this time?
"Was that Al?" Edward asked, curious about who might have shut the door.
"Well, you all were making a lot of noise." Amelia said, "Could have just been someone who wanted you to be less rowdy." She gave her teacher a small glare, "And maybe a bit more clothed." The Major said nothing as he started to dress again. As she spoke, Edward noticed the handcuffs she had on and couldn't help grinning at the sight.
"Well, well, looks like someone's finally being treated like a common criminal." He said smugly, and Amelia glared at him.
"Keep talking smack, it's just that much more reason to send you to an early grave." She said, and Edward glared right back at her. Armstrong cleared his throat and she scowled before she looked away from him, muttering under her breath, "Asshole…"
"So, what happened to get her locked up, anyway?" Edward asked the Major.
"Miss Seymour was caught attempting an escape by stealing the map that I had." The Major said, "So extra security measures had to be taken." Edward quirked a brow.
"I would have thought escape attempts would land her in jail," Edward said.
"Normally, they would have." Armstrong agreed, "However, after hearing a passionate, tearful plea from Miss Seymour, I could not help but think to give her a second chance."
Amelia's face bloomed in a bright red blush at the mention of a tearful plea, "Excuse you! I did not!" She almost screeched at him.
"Can she actually cry?" Edward asked, "I can't really picture that."
"You shut your mouth!" Amelia snapped at Edward before turning back to the Major, "It was not a tearful plea! And you don't need to go telling people that, either! You know how humiliating that is?!"
The Major was surprised at her sudden anger over his word choice, "But you were crying as you spoke, I thought it was a fitting way to describe it."
"She actually cried?" Edward asked, astonished.
"Shut up!" Amelia screeched again, "Both of you! Just… shut up!" She glared up at the Major, "We brought the stupid mechanic here, let's just go back already! I'd rather be locked up in my room than be stuck listening to you guys talk about this!" She said with a huff, heading for the door. The Major, knowing they had done their job, saluted Edward as he walked with his student out of the hospital.
Once she was gone, Edward let out a small hum before he turned to Winry, "So, the repair?"
"Oh, right." Winry had gotten caught up in the moment and forgotten, going to pick up her toolbox and bring it over to the side of the bed. "Go ahead and lay on your stomach, I'll fix your arm from there." She said, reaching for the empty tray and table for Edward's food and moving it so he could put his automail arm across it. Edward did as she told him and tried to picture Amelia in the position that Armstrong had described. Amelia had always come off as abrasive to him, stubborn, and kind of a selfish brat. It was hard to picture her in a situation where she would be so vulnerable that she would start crying in front of another person. She just… didn't seem like the type.
Amelia walked down the hall, glancing into one hallway where a light had gone out, seeing an odd figure there, initially thinking it was some strange piece of furniture, but she soon recognized it as someone familiar, "Oh, Alphonse." She called to the suit of armor, who turned his head at the sound of her voice.
"Hi, Amelia." He greeted her in a monotonous voice, and Amelia thought it was odd, given he normally had a pretty cheerful demeanor in the time she had known him. "Why are you in handcuffs."
"Long story short, I got caught trying to escape, so these are increased security measures." She said, holding up the wooden handcuffs, starting to walk over to him. The Major walked with her.
"How are you doing, Alphonse Elric?" He asked, "Your brother seems as energetic as ever."
"Yeah, I could hear him shouting about the milk." Alphonse said, "I thought it was better if I shut the door."
"Oh, so that was you," Amelia said. "I thought it was one of the hospital staff or something."
"I know you and your brother went to the Fifth Laboratory, Alphonse," The Major said, getting his attention, "Even when I explicitly told you not to go."
Alphonse only shrugged, "We had to know, Major. I don't really have an excuse for it." The Major hummed.
"I see." He said, "In the Fifth Lab, did you or Edward discover anything new regarding the research into the Philosopher's Stone?" Alphonse shook his head.
"I didn't really discover anything new…" The way his voice trailed off made something tick with Amelia, remembering that tone of voice when she would speak to people before, about something they had done that they were embarrassed, or upset about. It was a tone she had learned to recognize after years of being stuck in a socialite's world. "But I didn't go inside the lab. Edward was the one who went inside."
"I see." The Major said again, "Then I'll have to return to ask for details regarding his experience when he's feeling better." He looked around the hallway, "Perhaps it would be better for you to get out of this dark area, Alphonse. It doesn't seem very comfortable."
"Yeah, this place is a little creepy." Amelia agreed.
"You might go and see your brother," Armstrong said, "I'm sure he's looking to speak to you." Alphonse only nodded in reply. "Until we meet again." The Major said, giving Alphonse a small salute that he returned.
"See you," Amelia said as she started to leave, she and the Major had just reached the mouth of the dark hallway when Alphonse called out to her.
"Amelia, wait." She turned back, a little surprised that he had something more to say since he didn't seem to be in the most talkative mood, "I… wanted to thank you for your present. It's a good story so far."
"Oh." Was that all? "You're welcome." She turned away, thinking that was it, but Alphonse called out again.
"Amelia," She looked back once more, "We're friends, right?"
"Um…" She was a little reluctant to use the term since she didn't really have friends in her life, "I guess so." She answered with a shrug of her shoulders.
Alphonse's mind had been swirling with the words that Barry the Chopper had said to him, all day he had been doubting everything that he was and everything that he is. He wanted to reach out to someone, to know that he was real. Amelia wasn't Edward, she wasn't the one that might have made him, and he wanted to know if she thought that he was real, but for all of his courage, he couldn't ask it. But knowing that they were friends, that she considered that little string that might connect them despite their few, and kind of awkward interactions, it helped to comfort him a little to know that, to Amelia, he was real. "Okay, well… have a safe trip back." He said.
Amelia nodded, a little confused at their conversation, but she continued on her way with Armstrong next to her, "I'm glad you've seemed to take a liking to each other." He said. Amelia shrugged in response.
"Well, he's a lot easier to talk to than his brother, that's for damn sure."