"...you know that a good, long session of weeping

can often make you feel better,

even if your circumstances have not changed one bit."

― Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning

The Major and Amelia returned back to the estate, fully intending to go back to the courtyard to begin her training for the day, only to have the twin maids suddenly pick her up by the arms and lift her off her feet and start pulling her down the hall. "What the hell?!" She shouted at them as they dragged her away, Armstrong following behind. Amelia's legs swung back and forth as the pair of twins pulled her along to a room where they opened the doors, and she was almost immediately grabbed by another pair of hands and dragged inside, with a dress thrown in her face.

"Hurry and change, Amelia!" Strongine commanded her, "We need to make sure everything is ready!" Amelia stood there, confused for a moment as she looked over at Strongine, seeing her and Amue rushing around in what she could only guess was their underwear, "Alex, get out!"

"Oh, pardon me!" Armstrong quickly apologized before closing the doors. Amelia was still left confused as she watched the women rushing around. Catherine was being outfitted as well, with some other maids working to style her hair.

"What is going on?" Amelia asked, "I have to do my alchemy training. We have an hour before the party starts."

"Exactly!" Strongine turned to face her, looming over her and Amelia was a little intimidated by the determined expression on her face, "We only have an hour before the party begins, so we must start getting dressed now!" She turned to look over her shoulder, "Get her dressed and ready, would you?" And Strongine's looming form was soon replaced with the twins Delilah and Dianna.

"Come along, Miss Seymour," Said Dianna as she pulled her to a separate part of the room.

"Yes, we'll make sure you look lovely for the reunion," Delilah said.

"Yes, worthy of joining the Armstrong festivities." Dianna agreed with a smile. Amelia couldn't help but panic a little when they suddenly started to undress her.

"Wait-! Hang on a damn minute!" She said, squirming out of their reach, "I can put on my own dress!" She snapped at them, holding onto the dress that had been flung at her, the lilac one she had picked before.

The twins shared a look of dry doubtfulness as if they'd heard that kind of talk before and it hadn't worked out. Amelia glared back at them, "If you touch me while I'm getting dressed, I swear I'll bite you." She threatened before she went to where she could change in relative privacy, hearing the chatter of the sisters as they went back and forth preparing themselves for the reunion. When she finished and she stepped out with her other clothes, they were almost immediately taken from her hands by Delilah, with Dianna pulling on her arm and sitting her in a chair.

The next hour or so was something of a blur, with her getting dressed up like a doll as her hair was tugged one way and another as she was "made up properly" like the rest of the Armstrong family. Once her appearance was satisfying to the maids and to the Armstrong women, they began to make their way out of the room, with Amelia being brought along with them. She looked over at Catherine as the youngest Armstrong girl walked with her sisters. They were all wearing magnificently lacy ball gowns that were very beautiful, and very clearly made of the most expensive materials available. They all had their hair up, with the exception of Amue whose hair was too short but she did wear a very extravagant hair clip. They all made their way down to a hallway and the doors opened into a large ballroom. The walls were lined with tables covered in food and delicious looking hors-d'oeuvres and finger foods, and she could see musicians already practicing on a small stage. There was a string quartet of violins and cellos, a piano, and a few woodwinds as well. The room was brightly lit by the group of crystal chandeliers that hung high above them. Amelia was amazed that she had never been to this room before in all her time in the estate, but apparently, they had a ballroom.

"Well, it looks like everything's in order." Strongine said, and she turned to one of the butlers, "Horace, how soon do you think the guests will arrive?"

"They have already arrived, Madame." He said, "They are waiting in the parlor room with refreshments. There are still a few yet to come."

"Then tell them that the party has begun and welcome them into the ballroom. We're completely ready for them." Strongine spoke confidently, and the man bowed before he went to do as he was told.

"This is going to be really fun." Catherine said, smiling at Amelia, "I'll get to introduce you to all my cousins and aunts! Everyone's so friendly, I'm sure you'll fit right in."

"Yeah, I'm sure…" Amelia wasn't really sure how to feel in this moment, but she did smile for Catherine's sake.

Within ten minutes, the ballroom was soon filled with Armstrong family members. It was blonde curls and blue eyes as far as the eye could see, save for the guests that came along with the differing groups. There were plenty of men that could easily be Major Armstrong's lookalike, and plenty of women, too. Plenty of muscles and intelligent minds. She got a better idea of their gene pool looking at all of them at once. There were a few brunette Armstrongs here and there, even fewer redheads, but it wasn't entirely blonde. And there were plenty of guests from outside the family as well.

Amelia met many different cousins, uncles, aunts, and their various guests. She ended up losing track after a while, and her mind would wander as Catherine would introduce her as her guest to the family. Her movements didn't really feel like her, mostly mechanical, repeating the same lines over and over after she was introduced, "It's nice to meet you. What do you do for a living? Oh, that's interesting, can you tell me more?" It was how she got anyone to talk, and boy did this family love to talk, to brag about their accomplishments, about their amazing feats in their different lives. She ended up tuning most of it out, just staring ahead as she watched them speak, sparkling pink with pride as they bragged about their lives, taking part in conversations that she didn't need to be involved with. Why was she even here? What did this party ever matter to her? She had other things to be doing. She needed to learn alchemy so she could have a chance at cracking that alchemy exam, and she hadn't studied in days. It wasn't good for her to fall behind when she only had a year. She didn't have a lot of time left, Hughes didn't have a lot of time either. She could still feel the warmth of his blood when she pressed her hands to his chest pulsing between her closed fingers…

"Amelia?" She was pulled out of her thoughts as she looked over at Catherine, who had a concerned expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" She asked, trying to act like herself again. It wasn't like her to just lose herself at a party. She got bored at these, but she knew how to work these people.

"Auntie Ferelda asked you about your alchemy training," Catherine said, gesturing to her aunt in front of them. When had they switched from Cousins Timothy and Thomas to Aunt Ferelda? She was a stout woman, but she held the same regal presence as everyone else in the Armstrong family.

"Yes, I myself trained my young Alberto when it was his time," She said, "Being the eldest daughter of my own generation, it was my duty. How is Alex in his teaching of you?"

"He's great." Amelia answered, "I'm sure he's doing your family proud in taking on a student like me." Catherine's concern didn't seem to disappear.

"Amelia, are you alright?" she asked her, "You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm fine." Amelia brushed it off.

"You've said, 'that's interesting, tell me more' to the last six people." Catherine said, "And you don't really seem to be… well, engaged."

"True, dear." Ferelda commented, "You had the eyes of a dead trout."

"Ferrie," someone nearby swatted at her shoulder for her comment.

"I am simply being honest!" She defended herself to her relative before looking back to Amelia, "But perhaps you should rest, dear. Get some food in you. That's what helps me when I find myself lost in my own thoughts. I often tire at events like these, I feel your pain." Her tone came off so condescending that Amelia couldn't believe her at all.

"That sounds good." Catherine said, starting to lead her away through a sea of fine velvet suits and lace dresses to an ottoman, sitting her down, "I'll get you something to eat from the table, okay?"

"Catherine, I'm fine." Amelia insisted, "You don't have to do this."

"Just wait here." Catherine seemed to ignore what she said, "I'll be right back with something to eat. I'm kind of hungry myself anyway, we can share some food." She smiled an irritatingly perfect smile that radiated kindness before she went off to do as she said she would. She let out a sigh as she was left alone on the ottoman, looking out over the crowd, noticing some measured movements among the bunch. When did they start dancing? And how long had this music been playing? The tempo and the strings reminded her of one of Mozart's pieces. And with the waltz they were performing, it certainly seemed like it was actually Mozart, but the tune was one that was unfamiliar to her, like listening to the end of Mozart's unfinished symphony. Why couldn't they just play Mozart? He was refined enough for a family like this, she was sure. Maybe he would have fit right in with this family. It was a large one, after all, it would be easy to blend in if you really tried. Plenty of cousins and aunts, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters. Hughes had a daughter, didn't he? A little girl, she remembered her pictures of those pigtails and tiny sundresses. She cried at the funeral, she was still too small to understand what was happening then. That had been so heartbreaking to hear her cry out for her father…

"Some party, huh?" She was broken out of her reverie again by someone else, turning to see a dark-haired young man smiling at her, having taken the empty seat next to her, "I hope you don't mind, but I just needed a moment off the dance floor. Is it alright if I sit with you?"

"It's fine," Amelia said. There was a moment of silence between them where she focused on fixing the invisible wrinkles in her dress skirt, not making any move to talk to him. She was fine with the silence, though he decided to break it again.

"So, which branch of the Armstrong family are you from?" He asked her.

"I'm not an Armstrong." Amelia answered, "I'm taking alchemy lessons from Alex Louis Armstrong and I'm staying here until I'm done." She didn't mention that she was technically in his military custody as a criminal. Didn't really seem proper to mention it.

"Oh, I see!" The young man smiled at the news, "Another outsider, huh? Me too. I'm… uh…" He looked through the crowd, "Ah, there! You see that blonde hair with the feather sticking out of it?" He pointed to it, and Amelia followed his finger to see what he was talking about, nodding, "That's Arentia Letitia Armstrong, I'm here as her guest." He held out his hand to her, "I'm Richard Wallace."

"Amelia Seymour. It's nice to meet you." She said, reaching for his outstretched hand and shaking it. "Where are you from?"

"We're from the borders where Amestris meets Aurego to the west." He said, "I run a little bookstore over there, and Miss Arentia is a big reader." He let out a small chuckle, his cheeks turning a bashful pink as he looked over at her, "I think she has a bit of a crush on me. I haven't told her that she's not my type."

"Really? You'd be missing out." Amelia replied, "The Armstrongs are loaded, you'd be stupid not to marry into that fortune."

Richard shrugged, "Call me a hopeless romantic, but I want to be able to marry for love and all that. I think it's a lot better to spend your life with someone you definitely like over trying to learn to like the person you already married."

Amelia was quiet as she considered his answer. It was idealistic, naive, not that smart, "You're right." She replied, and turned to him with a grin, "You are hopeless." Now that she was looking at him better, he couldn't have been much older than her. Maybe a year or so?

"That's a little rude," Richard said, his mouth turning into a frown.

"You're the one that called yourself that, not me," Amelia replied.

"Okay, point taken…" Richard sighed a little.

"Why isn't she your type?" Amelia asked, looking back at the woman he had pointed out. She wasn't horrible to look at from this distance - she was no Catherine, but she definitely anything like the other Armstrong sisters either. She almost looked like a plumper version of Catherine, though her hair was a lot shorter, with those odd feathery hair clips. "She doesn't look too bad from here."

"She's got a horrible sense of humor." Richard said, "Every day, it's one pun after another. I understand wordplay, but it just gets old really fast, you know?" He sat up a little straighter and puffed out his chest before speaking in a falsetto voice, "Oh, another shipment came in? Well, you better book the next one, Richie!" Amelia let out a snort of laughter before hiding it behind her hand as he slumped back into his seat, speaking normally. "It's awful."

"I can see why you don't like her," Amelia replied. "But she's not really unattractive, though."

"Miss Arentia is very pretty, I won't deny that," Richard said, "But a woman's mind is so much more important to me than her figure." He turned back to her, "I like a well-educated woman, but maybe one that makes better jokes than that."

"Well, I've got kind of a joke for you if you're interested." She said, and he nodded, turning to face her fully, "Okay, so these two guys are best friends, right? Known each other for years, lots of deep conversations, whatever. So they decide to go on a camping trip together. They set up everything, have a fire, enjoying their night. After a while, it gets dark, so they go to sleep in their tents. After a few hours, one friend feels the other one poking at him to wake him up and he asks him, 'Look up, what do you see?' and the friend looks up and he sees the moon and the stars so he says, 'The sky,' and his friend asks him, 'What do you think that means?' And the guy takes a minute to consider the question before answering, 'I think it means that we are just a small part of a massive universe, that we are just part of a whole, unknown thing and we have yet to figure out our purpose in that whole, unknown thing and it means that life is our adventure to forge.' And his friend replies, 'No, you idiot. It means someone stole our tent.'"

Richard burst out laughing at the punchline, and Amelia smiled a little, happy that she had made him laugh so hard, but she didn't think it was that funny of a joke. He chuckled and righted himself, smiling at her. "You're easily amused, aren't you?" She asked.

"Only when the joke is funny." He replied with a smile that Amelia could almost take as charming. Giving him another once-over, he wasn't bad-looking. He had dark hair and blue eyes, a little boyish grin on his face, but he seemed… genuine. It wasn't something she was used to, but it was a welcome interaction after all the formal greetings and talking. "So, you, um… you said you were an alchemy student?"

"Yeah, I'm studying under Alex." She said and was about to continue when Catherine came back with a little plate of food.

"Here we are!" She said, handing it over to Amelia, "So we have some grilled scallops with prosciutto, a little bruschetta with mozzarella and favas, and some maple-roasted almonds. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got a little of everything."

"Thanks, Catherine," Amelia said, going for the scallops and starting to nibble at it.

"Oh, Richard!" A voice called out to Amelia's male companion, who grimaced at the sound.

"I was never here!" He said before he hurriedly got up, trying to make it look like he hadn't heard the voice as he walked away, though he tried to make it look like he wasn't going faster than normal. Catherine watched him leave, with her cousin Arentia walking after him.

"Oh, he must be Arentia's guest." She said, watching her cousin link her arm up with his and start pulling him out onto the dance floor, "She's always been one for the lithe and lean kind of man." She took a couple of the almonds, "I never really understood that."

"Not your type?" Amelia asked as she swallowed down her food.

"I prefer a more… sculpted physique, to be honest." Catherine said with a pink blush on her cheeks. "I like the idea of having a strong, powerful man helping me with everything. Someone tall and muscular, who can lift anything and help out around the house." She got a dreamy look on her face as she fantasized about her perfect man.

"But with your family's money, you could just hire someone to do the chores," Amelia said as she reached for one of the almonds. "But I guess you just like muscles."

"What about you?" Catherine asked, "What kind of man do you like?" Amelia paused to think about it. She hadn't thought about it too much, there had been a few celebrity crushes every now and then, but no particular type came to mind, but some fictional characters came to mind.

She shrugged as a response, "I guess whatever man isn't willing to take any bullshit. I haven't thought much about appearances." She munched on her almond as Catherine did, looking out over the shifting crowd of dancers in front of them. She spotted a familiar face among them. "...Lieutenant Ross?" Her eyes went a little wide to see the officer out of uniform, in a rather lovely dress, dancing with the Major. "The fuck is she doing here?"

"Oh, she's Alex's guest." Catherine said, "Apparently, she expressed an interest in coming, so he extended an invitation." She smiled as she looked at her brother and his subordinate dancing, "She's really nice, we've met a few times."

"Huh." Amelia listened as the song came to an end and the Major bowed to his partner, who curtsied back in turn, though she had something of an uncomfortable expression her face as she left and headed over to another part of the ballroom, "Didn't take her for the type to like these kinds of parties."

"We should go and greet her." Catherine said, "Especially if she's someone you know. I've been introducing you all night, now you can introduce me to someone." She smiled at her, "Alex doesn't normally talk about work, so I don't get to know a lot of his co-workers."

"Then I'm sure you guys would like talking together." Amelia replied, swallowing down one more bite before she stood up, "Let's go and get that out of the way." Catherine stood up with her and the pair went over to the woman, who didn't notice them until they were next to her.

"Oh! Miss Seymour." She smiled briefly at Amelia, "Good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too." Amelia greeted her politely, gesturing to Catherine, "This is Catherine Elle Armstrong, she's the Major's younger sister. Catherine, this is Lieutenant Ross."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Catherine said sweetly, and Lieutenant Ross smiled back at her.

"Likewise, I've heard a lot of good things about the major's sister." She said, "I'm Maria Ross."

"I didn't think I would see you at this party." Amelia said, "And you look pretty good." The lieutenant smiled as she looked down at the mint green dress she wore.

"Thank you, and you also look rather lovely." She returned her compliment, "I was a little surprised to hear that a family reunion would have such formal attire, but I guess you shouldn't really expect anything less from the Armstrong family."

"Yeah, no kidding," Amelia said with a small chuckle, though Catherine looked a little confused at the exchange.

"I don't understand, what do you mean?" She asked, "Should we not dress our best in the presence of company?"

"No, no, it's not really a big deal." Amelia said quickly, "It's just not really normal for not-so-rich families." Catherine let out a hum at that answer, but she didn't seem to be upset with that answer. Ross shifted a little awkwardly and Amelia looked back up at her, "I'm a little surprised to see you here. I didn't think you were the kind that would be interested in these formal parties."

"Well, it's a bit of a complicated story…" The lieutenant replied with something of a weary sigh, "But the short version is that the Major invited me, and there was a lot of pressure on me from a couple of people not to turn down the offer, so I came." She looked over at the dance floor where various guests were waltzing together, "I'm a little glad I did, I've never really been to a party like this, so it's a nice experience to have. Plus the food is really nice to eat."

"Oh, I'm so glad you like it." Catherine said with a smile, "My sisters and I worked hard to prepare the menu."

"I didn't know you planned this party, Miss Catherine!" Lieutenant Ross said with wide eyes, but she quickly smiled, "But you did a rather fantastic job with it. You said it was you and your sisters?"

"Yes, my older sisters Strongine was in charge of music, Amue was in charge of the food, I helped both of them with that," Catherine said. As the music shifted to another song, the three women found themselves chatting about Catherine's party planning for a little while until Amelia felt someone grabbing her hand and pulling her away.

"What-?" She looked up to see it was Richard from before, "What are you doing?"

"Please dance with me." He begged her, "This is Miss Arentia's favorite song and she has the worst coordination I've ever seen. I lied and told her I'd promised you a dance." She glanced back over Richard's shoulder to see a blonde woman with crossed arms and a strong pout on her lips as she looked at Richard's back. "Please don't let her step on my feet."

"Alright, I guess…" She said, letting him lead her out on to the dance floor and among the people, "I don't know this song, or the moves."

"It's alright, just follow my lead." Richard smiled at her, and she felt a little bit more at ease as they started moving around the floor. She let him lead, holding his hand as they moved around with the others on the floor. She glanced around to see Catherine and the Lieutenant giggling over something, and she could only guess what as she was dancing with a boy. "So, I guess since we're here," she looked up at him as he spoke, "We never did finish that conversation about you being an alchemist."

"Alchemist in training." Amelia corrected him. "And there isn't really much to talk about. I take some lessons, I learn some stuff, and I become a better alchemist."

"But what kind, though?" Richard asked, "Alchemy is a vast field, what are you going to specialize in?"

"I haven't really thought about it." She said, and it was true. She didn't intend to come up with a specialty since this was mostly just for her not to go to prison, "I'll just keep going until something clicks."

"How long have you been studying?" Richard asked before he twirled her on the floor.

"Um… I guess about a month or so now." She said, "Not too long."

"I suppose you really are just starting." He moved along the dance floor with her. Amelia wondered for a moment how she hadn't stepped on his feet yet. Was this talking helping to make sure she didn't, "I've never been able to wrap my head around the science, but it's practical uses are so fascinating. I have a cousin who's a bio-alchemist, he's working to become a proper doctor, but the alchemy knowledge definitely gives him an edge."

"I'm sure it does." Amelia didn't really care that much about his cousin.

Seeming to sense her disinterest, Richard changed the subject, "Do you read much, Miss Amelia?"

"A little bit." She said, "I've actually just gotten into this Golden Rose saga."

"That's one of our best sellers." Richard said, "I've read a little of the first book, but haven't found the time to finish on top of everything else I'm reading. It's quite the love story."

"Oh, you'll really like it." Amelia said, a little glad to talk about the book, "The first book does a great job with developing their characters, but it also introduces a lot of people you don't see until the second or third book, they make great antagonists to the story."

"Really? Like who?" Richard asked.

"Well, you remember that assistant, Ivan? He's actually going to be really influential in the plot of the second book…" Amelia went into more detail and kept dancing with Richard through the song.

In another part of the room, the Major was watching as Amelia danced with an unfamiliar face, turning to one of the butlers nearby, "Williams," The man perked up at the sound of his name being called, "Can you see whose guest that is dancing with Amelia?" He pointed to the dark-haired boy.

"Right away, sir." The man said before excusing himself from his hors d'oeuvres serving duties to investigate. Armstrong stood up and looked back at his student as she seemed to enjoy chatting with him, but something about that boy didn't entirely sit right with the Major. He seemed to be putting on a facade of happiness or interest with Amelia. He didn't like it at all as he watched the two dancing through the song. He looked to see who was with him and could see his cousin Arentia giving Amelia the stink eye as she danced with that boy, and soon enough he found out that she had brought that boy as her guest - apparently she had her eye on him.

Soon enough, the song ended and Amelia and Richard parted as he went back to soothe Arentia before she decided to confront Amelia over that. She went back to Catherine and the Lieutenant, who talked a while longer before they were pulled away for some other relatives. Somehow, they made it over to the Major and his father as they talked over a few things, and she found her mind drifting like before as she tuned them out and gave her usual programmed responses to fill the silence.

Who really cared about how things were progressing in Central? Unless anyone else happened to escape from prison like Isaac had, or if Scar found his way back here, but he clearly hadn't. What does it matter if the soldiers were kept busy with whatever was bothering the city? The real problem was that group of people with the ouroboros tattoos, the ones that had killed Hughes. She had spent so long chasing down that blood trail, finding him in that phone booth, still able to feel his blood between her fingers as she tried to revive him. Why couldn't she have done more? She should have learned to do proper CPR, or at least dress his wound, that would have made a difference wouldn't it? She should have asked to learn this stuff. Surely alchemy could have helped, right? There must be a way to manipulate the chemicals of the body so that she pushed the bullet out and stopped the bleeding. It's bio-alchemy, though… She had that stripped from her usual lessons. Maybe if she hadn't been so stubborn about chimeras, she might have learned enough to save him, save his family the grief of having to hold a funeral for him, save his daughter the problems of growing up without a father.

"-on't you, Amelia?" She looked up when her name was called, seeing Strongine smiling down at her, "I think it would be a fun little way to start off the evening."

"Yeah, I suppose." She said, giving her programmed response to whatever it was that Strongine was talking about.

"Wonderful!" She said, clapping her hands and reaching for her own, "Then let's get you up on stage!" She pulled her through the crowd, "Amue, hurry!" She could hear Strongine's identical sister trailing behind them as she was pulled along with Strongine.

"Wait, what?" Amelia suddenly wished she had been listening to that conversation, she had no idea what she just agreed to. She soon found herself up on the stage where the musicians were now packing up their instruments, with Amue joining her as Strongine went for a microphone and turned it on to get everyone's attention.

"Good evening, everyone!" She called out to her family, "We are thrilled to be the hosts of the Armstrong family reunion here in Central! We are so pleased to meet with all of you, and hear tales of all your illustrious accomplishments from the last five years." The crowd applauded her and she smiled, letting them cheer themselves on before she continued, "As the hosts, we do our best to provide the entertainment you like, so we would like to show the progress with Amue Armstrong leading the evening singing an original piece to accompany the music of our young guest Amelia Seymour." She gestured to the two of them. Amelia paled a little at her words, not realizing until then that she had agreed to a piano performance that she had specifically told them she didn't want to do. But if she told them it was a misunderstanding, would they believe her? As Amue came over, pushing Amelia over to the piano keys, she sat her down, "Just play that Green Sleeves song you did before." She said to her quietly, "Amue and I composed some lyrics to go with it." She stepped away, handing the microphone over to her sister so she could sing for the crowd.

Amelia was left a little stunned, with Amue looking back at her expectantly. She looked down at the keys, putting her fingers to them. She never wanted to do this, she can't believe she let herself just fall through like that. She stared down at the white keys, trying to remember the starting tune - it wasn't like it was hard, it was just Greensleeves. She knew that song perfectly at this point - But she didn't want to do this, she never wanted to perform for their family. It was like they were just showing her off, the perfect little student who knew piano, was ever so elegant and perfect just like her mother always wanted. She looked down at her hands as they rested on the keys, hearing some murmurs rising up from the crowd, probably asking why she wasn't playing yet or why the song hadn't started yet. She didn't care, what did it matter anymore? It was just a damn piano and learning this stuff wasn't her own anymore, not now, not when she was made to perform like this. After all that she did, everything she learned, she had a man's life in her hands and she couldn't do a damn thing for him! She couldn't stop the bleeding from his wound, she couldn't keep his heart beating, she couldn't fix his body with alchemy so the bullet would get out. She had to attend his funeral because she couldn't do anything! A man was dead because she was so horribly useless and stubborn! She should have learned bio-alchemy! Why did she have to be such a stubborn brat?!

"Amelia," She looked up to see Amue had approached her, "Dear, what's wrong?"

"What do you-?" She heard how her voice croaked and shook. She suddenly realized she had started crying somewhere in those swirling thoughts. Her body shook and she had started sobbing. She couldn't get out an apology for her behavior as Amue tried to comfort her because she couldn't control herself anymore. She kept wiping at her eyes but the tears wouldn't stop flowing. "Amelia, I'm sorry, we didn't think it was going to be such a sudden show… It's alright, dear." She could hear the concerned murmurs from the crowd. Eventually, someone else came up on stage and she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Here, Amelia." Alex gently helped her up and off the stage. She went past a guilt-stricken Strongine who whispered an apology to her as Alex took her out of the ballroom. Strongine went up on stage, saying that she would be performing instead, something to save the night as Amelia was out of the picture now.

She was taken into a parlor room that was empty of people and she was sat down on the couch. She was sobbing too much to get any words out to explain why she was acting like this, or to apologize for any of it. Armstrong simply sat beside her, rubbing her back gently, "You'll be alright, Amelia. You can get it out here, let it go." He soothed her, and Amelia's body was wracked with sobs for a while longer. She couldn't help it anymore, her thoughts kept going back to Hughes and that night, how she had been so useless in helping him, how she had ruined the lives of his wife and his daughter and anyone that knew him because she couldn't help him.

After about ten minutes of just pure crying, she managed to calm down and take a few deep breaths. She still sniffled, and she could feel tears threatening to push through, but she forced herself to calm down, "I'm sorry…" She said once she had her voice back. Armstrong offered her a handkerchief and she took it, using it to wipe her eyes clean.

"What was it that had you so upset?" Armstrong asked her, "I didn't think you had such bad stage fright."

"No, it's not that…" Amelia swallowed the lump in her throat, she wasn't going to start crying again, "It's just… it's my fault." Armstrong looked at her confusedly, "I couldn't… I couldn't help him. I was right there and I couldn't do anything…!" Her voice shook and the tears started flowing again, she put the handkerchief up to her eyes to try and rid herself of them. She felt Armstrong grabbing her shoulders tightly, and she looked up to see the man had moved in front of her, giving her an intense look with his blue eyes.

"Amelia, you cannot blame yourself for what happened with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." He said firmly, "You were not the one that shot the gun, you were not the one that stabbed him. You have never been at fault. You cannot blame yourself for the actions of others like this." He shook her, "You must understand that. This was never your fault. You did all that you could and no one could ask more of you. Do you understand?" Amelia was left speechless at the intensity of his words. Taking her silence as a sign that he overreacted, he released her shoulders from his hands, "I apologize if my tone was too strong, but I do not want you to carry around this guilt when you did nothing wrong." He moved to sit beside her, "That kind of guilt will rest on your shoulders and weigh you down for the rest of your life." She had a feeling he had experience with that kind of guilt. She remembered that night she snuck into his room, the pained look on his face when he grabbed her hand and begged for forgiveness.

She didn't say anything as she wiped at her cheeks and her eyes. She felt like she was back to herself again. "I know you're right." She said softly, "I just can't help thinking that I should have been able to do more… I don't know proper CPR, so I couldn't do that… and I couldn't really do anything." She looked down at her hands, "I know I'm not responsible for his death, but… I keep thinking about the "What if"s. What if I knew bio-alchemy and sealed up his wounds? What if I was able to keep his heart pumping when the medics arrived?"

"We cannot change the past, as much as we wish that we could." Armstrong said, "We are not responsible for things held outside of our control, and you should not feel as though you were responsible for his death." He put his hand on her back again, "I do not want you to carry such a weight with you when you were not responsible." She nodded silently, knowing he was right, but she still couldn't help but feel bad. "If you like, we can make some changes to your lessons." She looked up at him, "We could start learning bio-alchemy so that you can learn more about the human body to heal it if necessary." She was quiet as she nodded again.

"I'd like that." She said softly. Armstrong nodded.

"Then we'll start with it first thing." He assured her. Amelia could hear the sound of an aria coming through the door - undoubtedly it was Amue's singing as Strongine played to accompany her. "It seems the entertainment has started without you."

"I didn't really want to do it anyway." She said, sniffling a little. "I didn't really understand what I was agreeing to, then." She let out a dry chuckle.

"I thought you seemed a little out of it." Armstrong commented, and he gave her a small smile, "Well, you don't need to worry about it for now. We can go back to the party later if you wish."

"I don't think I want to go back at all…" Amelia said, and Armstrong nodded.

"Then we won't." He said.

"What about your family?" She looked up at him, "It's your reunion, after all."

"Yes, but there will be another one." He replied, "You are my priority at this time." She was a little touched by that, knowing that he was willing to help her when she wasn't well.

The parlor door opened and the two turned to see Richard poking his head through, "Ah, sorry, I don't mean to interrupt." He said hesitantly, "I just wanted to check and see if she was okay…" He looked over at Amelia, who wiped her cheeks clean of dried salt and tears as she stood up from the couch where she sat.

"Yes, I'm fine now." She said, coming over to him, "But I just… got a little overwhelmed at the party. I'm not going back."

"Oh… I'm sorry." Richard looked away sheepishly, "But um… Well, if this is going to be the last I see of you… I was actually wondering if I could write to you sometime?" He had a little pink splashed on his cheeks as he reached one hand to scratch at the back of his head, "I, um, I really enjoyed our talk, so if it's alright with you, I'd like to keep in touch… We only have the one phone in town and it's a little inconvenient that way…"

"I would like that." Amelia said, smiling at him, "I liked our talks, too. Make sure to tell me all about Arentia and her craziness in your store." Richard beamed and nodded.

"Of course! It makes for the best stories." He said with a chuckle before he glanced back at the open door, "Well, um, I should go make sure she isn't bothering anyone else. Arentia, I mean."

"Yeah, write me about what happens," Amelia said, letting him leave and she went back to the Major. "I guess I made a friend."

"It seems that you did." He said, putting aside his feelings on the boy for the moment as he had her come back. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." She said with a sigh, "Crying takes a lot out of you."

"And makes you all the stronger for it," Armstrong said.

She let out a small laugh, "Is that why you always end up crying over the little things?"

"I feel no shame in showing my feelings in such a way," Armstrong said, puffing out his chest as he showed pride in his emotions. Amelia only smiled up at him, letting out another sigh as she sat back on the couch.

"I've never liked parties like this." She said to him, "My parents used to have them all the time and they would make me go. I wouldn't know anyone, and everyone they introduced me to I would end up hating one way or another." Armstrong let her speak, "But I'd end up going, and let them talk just so I don't seem rude." She let a beat of silence pass between them, but it wasn't anything she was uncomfortable with. "I've always hated them for making me do something like that." For a moment, she let down her barriers for a while, just the two of them. She felt as if she could really trust him now, that he really did want to look after her and make sure that all was well. Nothing was said in that time, just the two of them in a comfortable silence as they let the reunion go on in the other room.

After a few minutes had passed, Amelia stood up, "Do you mind taking me to my room? I think I just want to go to bed after today."

"Of course." Armstrong stood up with her and escorted her through the halls to the room she had been given. "I'll lock the doors behind you for the night. You're sure you're alright going to bed this early?" It was only about 9 or so.

"Yeah, I'm tired." She said, "And if I can't sleep, I'll find a book or something." Armstrong nodded and that was the last words they spoke that night as he closed the doors behind her, the lock clicking in place so she would be in there until someone came to unlock it in the morning.

Amelia went through her routine for bed, slipping under the covers and laying there. After everything that she had experienced over the last couple of days, she couldn't help but feel tired. Maybe everything just came to a head when she had to go up on that stage… all her stress and other things. It felt good to talk to Armstrong about it, though. She thought to herself. I think he gets it a little bit more than anyone else around here. Still, she had a lot of things to do, come tomorrow morning. Including starting back on those alchemy lessons.

Apologies on how long it took to update. This kind of emotional upheaval with Amelia is not easy to write.