Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness.
They are a sign of a pure heart."
― José N. Harris
After the inspection, Amelia and Armstrong returned to Central without any issue. She enjoyed the first-class car while they had it since she doubted she would experience it again the next time she got put on a train in Amestris. The trip back had plenty of useful alchemy lessons on it that helped her grow more comfortable with the science, but they also came up with a schedule for her lessons. It would be a lot of work for the Major, but it was something that they both needed to do, a lot of it involved bringing her in with him to work at the investigations department. She was content to read textbooks and teach herself what she could until she came to something that didn't make sense and she could ask him about it when he had a moment.
It was the best they could do for the time being, with his hours being so long, but at least when they were both at home in the Armstrong estate, it meant there would be plenty of time for the Major to relax, and Amelia wouldn't have to worry about alchemy for a while, either. She ended up spending a lot of it with the Armstrong sisters in their various artistic pursuits. She was enjoying her time with them, they all seemed to be as genuine as their brother, and it was a nice change of pace from the usual snobbery she used to feel with her parents. She found herself teaching Catherine the piano in her spare time since she thought she could make good use of having a piano teacher whose hands weren't so big like Strongine's. With Strongine, they ended up composing some of the songs she knew and writing them down for the sake of posterity. With Amue, they would read together, and sometimes they would all get together to have a little book club. It was a good week to spend with the girls, balancing her time between them, and the Major when he was working.
After a week, she ended up getting assigned to be babysat by Lieutenant Ross or Sergeant Brosh while the Major was working, and she did her textbook studies in relative silence, or at least as much silence as the investigations department would allow. And when it got to be too much, the Lieutenant was more than happy to escort her to a quieter place to study down the hall.
It was on a day like this when the Major was taking a small bathroom break, that he happened upon Colonel Mustang. He had heard of his transfer and congratulated him on it at the time, but now it was a little bit more than just a passing hello whenever they saw each other. He looked up at him from above the bathroom stall door and could see the exhaustion in his face as he rinsed off his face from a morning shave, undoubtedly because he spent the night here. When the Colonel looked in the mirror and saw the Major's head sticking up over the door, he couldn't help but grimace a little at the sight of him, obviously not pleased that someone had caught him staying overnight at work. "Hello, sir." He greeted him.
"Hey…" He replied.
Armstrong stepped out of the stall, looking over at the colonel, noticing a few changes since the last time he had seen him. His face looked more pallid than he remembered, and he certainly looked exhausted, on top of that his uniform seemed a little bit baggier on him. "Colonel, you look like you've lost some weight." He said as he went over to the sink to wash his hands, letting him know he knew something was happening to the man.
"Maybe." He replied indifferently before looking over at him, seeing the bandages wrapped around his head an eye, "But what happened to you?"
"There was an… incident, down in the south." He obviously couldn't go into full detail about it with someone who didn't know anything about the unrest, the ouroboros tattoos. "But don't you worry. It's just a scratch."
"I see. What about your apprentice? She must have been bored waiting for you." The colonel went on.
"She joined me on the trip, she's perfectly fine." He assured his colleague, "She was of great help, really." He reached up to turn off the sink, "I ran into the Elric brothers down there. Apparently, they'd gone to Dublith to pay a visit, an old teacher."
There was a pause before the colonel spoke again, "Major,"
"Sir?"
Mustang didn't face the Major as he looked at his own reflection, "Did you tell them about Hughes's death?"
Armstrong was quiet for a moment before he replied, a little ashamed, "No, I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"They'll found out eventually, you know." Mustang chided him.
"Yes, I know." Armstrong dried his hands and went to leave.
"The Fifth Laboratory and the Philosopher's Stone. The stone's key ingredient is live humans." Armstrong stopped at the door, his hand resting on the wood. His eyes went wide and for a moment it felt like his heart had stopped. It was a secret, or at least it was supposed to be, "Hughes always did enjoy helping other people. This time he stuck his nose into the Elric brothers' investigation and found out something he would have been better off not knowing. Am I wrong?" The Major turned back to face the colonel, he didn't know how he had come across this information, but he could guess. With his pallid expression and thinning waistline, it must have been because he was putting in extra work secretly to investigate Hughes' death when the investigations department wasn't around. He knew that he and Hughes were exceptionally close when he was alive, it made sense that he wouldn't be satisfied with a military investigation alone when he had access to the same resources and information. "If the Elric brothers found out what really happened to him, that he died trying to help them, they would blame themselves. So… your not telling them was kind." He watched as the colonel reached for his uniform jacket to put on, making himself ready for the work ahead of him.
The Major smiled at him, glad that he thought his withholding of that information was an effort in kindness, at least, "You've got it all figured out, don't you?"
"I'm almost there," Mustang replied.
Armstrong's expression hardened as he looked at him, "Be careful, sir. You never know who might be listening in on you. Or where." The military was listening to them, their enemies were within their ranks. He turned back to the door, "If you'll excuse me…" With that, he left the bathroom and went back to his office where Amelia was talking over something with the lieutenant and the sergeant. He had come to see her in a new light since the incident of the Fifth Lab's destruction, she was a young woman who had wanted to be kind, and there was a part of her that still very much was. He could see the good in her when she had spent time with his sisters, how she glowed as she would play piano with Strongine, or talk about books with Amue, and how she smiled when she would spend time with Catherine as she tried to follow in her big sisters' footsteps. Amelia had integrated herself almost perfectly into his family, it was hard to picture her as the outsider that she was at the beginning.
Of course, his military training said that was a warning sign, that he shouldn't grow too comfortable with her since she could use that against him. She had already tried to escape twice, once when he had trusted her to stay outside the Tucker house, and again when she tried to steal a map of the city from his room. She was still a felon, someone who he had custody of and should keep a close watch on. However, he had come to see more of who she was, and he doubted that this girl who was barely of age in Amestrian law would have the wherewithal to hide everything about her personality from them if she was making an effort to earn their trust to escape and run before they had a chance to imprison her. She was a clever girl and picked up alchemy quickly, and after hearing her speak her suspicions about the Fuhrer from the southern inspection he knew that she was capable of understanding a great deal. For someone so young, she was very mature. Still, he preferred the side of her that seemed innocent when she was happy, when she had been enjoying herself with his sisters, or even just talking casually with him. He wanted to protect her as if he would any other member of his family, to shield her from the awful truths of the world, to keep her safe from these people that may be targeting him through her. He wanted to trust her, he wanted her to feel at home with him, he wanted to make sure she was safe, but he also had to make sure that she wouldn't run and cause trouble for herself and the government.
He smiled as he came back to his subordinates and his student, "Well, you three seem to be getting along."
Amelia looked over at him, "Yeah, I was just talking about the piano."
"I was hoping to hear her play at the reunion, but obviously that didn't happen." Lieutenant Ross said with a shrug, downplaying Amelia's breakdown on the stage. She must have been concerned about the poor girl.
"I was wondering if maybe there was a way I could play for her on a record or something. You can do that, right?" Amelia thought recording herself might be the best way to do it, since she felt she couldn't really play for anyone in person without it turning into a kind of concert, and she preferred to avoid that while she was in this place. And since sending it through a text message wasn't an option, she would have to do it via vinyl records since that was the main source of music in this place.
"Of course, I'm sure Strongine will be happy to help record you playing for the lieutenant," Armstrong said as he walked around to his desk.
"There you go." Amelia smiled back at the lieutenant, who grinned.
"Well, I'll look forward to hearing it someday." The older woman smiled at her, watching as Amelia put her textbook away.
"Oh, and where are you headed?" The Major asked.
"We thought it best to wait until you came back from the latrines before she did the same." Ross replied, "We'll just be a minute or two."
"Ah, very well." The Major said, letting them leave.
The two headed out of the office and into an empty hallway as they headed down to the latrines.
"So… I know this might not be something you want to answer," Ross began nervously, "But I'm not sure what happened on that stage."
"Oh." Amelia figured this was coming, Ross had avoided asking it until now when they were alone, "Well… I guess I was just feeling overwhelmed. The funeral was right before the party, you know." She said, pushing her hands into the pockets of her pants as she walked, eyes on the floor, "It just sort of hit me all at once. I hadn't really been focusing all that much during the party."
"I noticed." Lieutenant Ross said, "But, given what happened, it's understandable… I'm sorry you had to go through that." Amelia nodded as she raised her head.
"You don't have to apologize. I'm over it." She replied. It wasn't entirely true, she had mostly just learned to push those feelings and trauma aside for a while, though it would often come back to her when she was alone. She still had nightmares about that time, though plenty fewer night terrors that would wake the whole Armstrong estate.
As they turned a corner, the lieutenant was knocked back slightly when someone ran into her. Amelia recognized the gaudy red coat right away, "Edward?" He looked over at her, just as surprised to see her here as she was to see him. They had only just left him in Dublith, he must have gotten the train back that day. She saw Alphonse coming to a stop just behind his brother, she was surprised she hadn't heard him coming.
Edward noticed her companion and recognized her pretty quickly, "Lieutenant Ross!"
She smiled at him, "I haven't seen you two here in a while." She greeted him, "You're in a hurry, why the rush?"
"Seriously, you just about knocked her down," Amelia added, earning her a dirty look from Edward before he looked back at Ross.
"We just heard about Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," Edward replied, and Amelia's expression shifted, as did Lieutenant Ross's, her smile quickly leaving her face.
"Yeah, it's rough news, huh?" She grew more melancholy at the mention of his loss, and Amelia felt a little sick to her stomach.
"There was still so much we wanted to tell him about," Edward said.
"We would have liked to say goodbye," Alphonse added.
"Well… I suppose the only one of us that really had a chance to do that was Miss Seymour here." The lieutenant said, and Edward's expression changed to one of incredulity.
"Seriously?! Why were you the only one to say goodbye?" He sounded a little offended.
"It wasn't like it was a happy moment." She snapped back angrily, and Edward couldn't help noticing there was a big difference in her anger than when they had last met. It was deeper than before, he could tell that she clearly wasn't happy with everything that happened, either. Amelia couldn't help it, they were speaking so casually about it as if it was just something that happened normally. She supposed that was true, everyone dies eventually, but they could stand to be a little more somber about it.
"It's nothing to worry about," The lieutenant intervened before things got worse, "The military gave him a proper send-off."
"Wow, that was nice," Edward replied, a little impressed.
"That's how it's done." Ross said, "Also if you boys haven't heard already, I'm sure you'll both be glad to know he was promoted two whole ranks."
"Up to brigadier general?" The way he spoke, it made Amelia wonder why he was so surprised.
"He retired to the country and they promoted him?" Alphonse asked, with that same confusion. Amelia's eyes went wide as she realized the two of them didn't know. They had been told he retired to the country by someone who wanted to spare their feelings. Ross realized this too, and she put her hands over her mouth to stop herself from revealing anything else. The mood shifted instantly, Edward's expression becoming a little more horrified as he started to get an inkling of what was going on.
"Lieutenant Ross?" He looked right at the woman, who wasn't exactly eager to speak. "Wait, what are you talking about? He retired, right?" Ross couldn't speak, but Amelia didn't want to have to stay here for them to realize it, so she spoke up.
"He's dead." She said, but she couldn't look Edward in the eye as she spoke, her gaze on the floor, "He was murdered… a little while after you guys left the hospital." Almost the same day, really. "They still don't know who did it." Edward's face went pale as he heard her say it.
"It's not true!" He said, sounding desperate, "It can't be!"
"It is true." Amelia insisted firmly, knowing that this had to help him get past the denial stage of grieving, "I was there when he died." Her hands shook a little as she thought about it, "He got shot in his heart… I couldn't save him." She gripped her hands a little tighter, and there was a long moment of silence before Edward just turned and ran past them, Alphonse followed behind him quickly, shouting after him. Amelia watched them go until they were around the corner. She let out a small sigh as she turned to face front again.
"Are you alright?" The lieutenant asked, concerned for her. She had seen the effect that event had on her, she hoped talking about it hadn't made it worse somehow.
"I'm okay." She said, "Let's just find the head and get that done." She walked with the lieutenant down the hall. She remembered how they had seen the boys in Dublith. She was rethinking what she should have said to them then. At least they didn't seem to blame her for what happened to Hughes, which was something of a relief.
The day came to an end and Amelia headed back home with the Major. "So, do you think we can put in a few more transmutation lessons before dinner?" She asked as they drove back to the estate, "I want to make sure I have this stuff down pat on organic material. Do you think your dad would mind if I transmuted one of the trees in the courtyard?"
"We'll see about the transmutation lessons after dinner." The Major said, "I still have some cases I have to take care of." He reached over for the pile of files and paperwork in the seat beside him, which is why Amelia sat in the back.
"Right…" She sighed and sat back in her seat, looking up at the estate as they came around the corner. The amount of land the estate held was massive, enough for a small village of people if you spaced it right, Amelia thought. Her own home wasn't nearly so big, though it would have been considered a mansion back in the United States, it seemed impossibly small compared to the sheer size of the Armstrong estate. She was glad that, even if it was incredibly extravagant, she got to serve out her sentence in luxury with this particular family.
When the car was parked, someone came out to direct it to the garage, and Amelia came around to help the Major with his paperwork, but he already had it covered.
"Miss Seymour?" She looked up at the sound of her name, seeing the butler Harold, "A phone call came for you earlier this evening."
"Really?" She didn't think anyone would call her, but the fact that someone had sent a feeling of dread through her.
"Yes, I wrote down the name and telephone number of the young man," He handed it to her, "He'd like you to call back as soon as you can manage." She took the slip of paper, reading over the number, and letting out a sigh of relief at the name at the top. Alphonse Elric.
"I'll call him back right now." She said, heading inside to the phone. She took a moment with the rotary dial, but she managed to do it well. She listened as there was ringing on the other side until someone answered.
"Hello, Central Hotel." The voice answered.
"Oh, um…" He was staying in a hotel? Why not the barracks? "I got a call from someone at this number, Alphonse Elric?"
"Oh, yes. He was here about an hour ago, I think he's in his room. If you'll hold, I'll get him for you."
"That sounds good." She heard the phone being placed down and she couldn't hear anything anymore. It was weird to be put on hold to silence, normally businesses back home would use hold music, playing some old classic rock or pop or some weird soft tune that she could never recognize. She waited for a while, to the point where she listened in to the silence of the murmurs of other voices, probably other employees just chatting to help the time go by. She was trying to listen in when she heard the phone jostling.
"Amelia?" Alphonse's voice sounded on the other line. It was strange to hear that metallic echo through the phone.
"Hey, Alphonse." She greeted him, "Harold said you called for me?"
"Oh, I wasn't sure where to call so I ended up finding the number for the Major's home." Alphonse replied, sounding a little sheepish, "But I'm glad I got through to you."
"Yeah, sure… so what's up? Why did you call?" She couldn't really think of a reason for him to get in touch with her.
"Well… I just wanted to make sure that you were doing okay." Alphonse said, "We, um… Brother ran off pretty quickly, and it didn't really seem like the best thing to do… But what you said sounded pretty terrible."
"Oh…" She didn't really want to talk about this, "Yeah, it wasn't exactly a good night for me, but I'm okay." It wasn't a complete lie, she was working towards getting better, "It's… well, you know, it's a process to… um… look, I'd rather not talk about that too much."
"I'm sorry." Alphonse said quickly, "But Brother and I were kind of… surprised to hear that you tried to help him."
"Why is that surprising?" She instantly thought the worst and grew angry, "What, did you guys think I would just leave him to die or something? That I would just ditch his body and run off somewhere? You have a lot of nerve, you know that?!"
"Oh, no, no! We didn't think that!" Alphonse quickly said, "I-It's just… well, you didn't really know him that well. Miss Gracia said you stayed by him all the way to the hospital. I just thought that was really kind of you to try and help." She relaxed a little as she heard that part, "Brother and I… we wouldn't really know how to help in that situation, either. So… I-I guess I just wanted to let you know that we… understand. Kind of."
"Oh." She relaxed completely. She was starting to realize just how much of a caring soul Alphonse had. "Well, it's okay. I'm mostly over it." She shrugged, though she realized he couldn't see that over the phone, "But you didn't really need to call me to check in on anything. I'm fine. The Major's fine. Everything is fine… The world doesn't stop turning just because someone dies, right?"
"Right." Alphonse said, and there was a beat of silence between the two where they didn't really know what to say after that, "Well, I just wanted to check on you, make sure everything was okay."
"Everything is fine, Alphonse." She said, "But you don't really need to check up on me. I can handle myself okay. You guys are in a worse situation than I am, considering your body and your brother's."
"Ha, right…" There was the sound of metal jostling on the other side of the phone, "Well, I should get going, make sure Brother and Winry eat dinner before the dining hall closes. She's mentioned wanting to see you, so you should stop by sometime soon."
"Okay, I'll think about it. Goodbye Alphonse." Amelia didn't wait for him to return the greeting before she hung up the phone. It was sweet of him to call but unnecessary. It was a while ago. She was coping, figuring it out. She was managing. That was the important part was that she was managing.
She was about to head back to the dining hall when the phone rang again. She wondered if Alphonse called her back as she picked up the phone, "Hello?"
"Is Major Armstrong there?" A frantic voice asked on the other end of the line.
"Um…" She looked around, "Not right now, but I can probably find him if you give me a minute."
"Please do that, and hurry." The man said, and Amelia put the phone down on the table, heading into the dining room where she could see the Major sitting with his family.
"Hey, Teacher?" He turned back at the sound of his title, "Phone for you." He stood up from his chair and headed that way, giving Amelia a small pat on the head as thanks while she went into the dining room.
"I hope it's not work again." Josephine said, "He's been far too occupied with his job these days. They really need to learn to better delegate the paperwork in his office." Amelia took her seat where it would have normally been at the table beside the Major's empty chair, starting to dig into the food that was on the plate in front of her.
"Given everything that's happened, it can't really be helped." Said Phillip as he ate his own food, "I'm proud that our boy is working so hard for the betterment of our country. He's doing everything he can to keep that department running smoothly."
"Still, he's been overworking himself." Josephine said, "Even you know the dangers of that, my darling." Amelia's nose wrinkled at the way Josephine called her husband 'darling.' It was so casual, which was something she wasn't used to in a family where they seemed so… stiff. At least the Major's parents always came off like that to her. Perfect posture, enunciating clearly, the kind of people who would scoff and turn up their nose at straying from tradition.
"This is true…" Phillip grumbled before he ate another bite, "But I'm sure Alex knows his limits, he should be fine. If not, he should be reminded of them eventually." He chuckled a little, and Amelia heard an exasperated sigh from across the table, seeing Strongine scowling at her dinner plate.
She heard stomping and felt her chair suddenly spinning to the Major, who had an intense expression on his face as his hands gripped at the back of her chair, leaning it back slightly as his blue eyes bore into her brown ones, "Amelia, did they tell you of any other witnesses in the Hughes investigation?"
"What?" The question was out of nowhere, and that was her immediate response.
"Did the primary investigator tell you that there were other witnesses besides you?" Armstrong demanded again, "Did you see anyone else the night Hughes was murdered?"
"N-No…?" She was confused, and a little scared of this sudden change in his behavior, "Why are you asking?"
Armstrong stared at her for only a second longer before he put the chair down and faced his parents, "Forgive me, Mother and Father, but I need to return to work immediately."
"But you just got home. What could be so important?" Josephine protested his leaving.
"One of my subordinates has just been arrested for the Hughes investigation." He said gravely. "Apparently, a new witness has come forward and testified."
"What?" Amelia gasped, "Who?"
"Maria Ross." Amelia's eyes widened. The lieutenant was arrested for Hughes' murder? The thought immediately didn't make sense. "I have to return to work at once, excuse me." And with that, he left the dining room.
"My goodness!" Catherine marveled as her brother left, "One of Alex's subordinates killed his superior officer?"
"That doesn't…" That doesn't make sense. Amelia wanted to say, but she trailed off as she tried to remember that night. When she ran to Hughes, she didn't see anyone, but it was night… Even if the street lights were on in the park where the phone booth was, it wasn't easy to see. Had there been a person among the bushes and trees? Was one of those tall trunks really a silhouette? She wouldn't have noticed, the second she saw the man, she had rushed over. But she hadn't seen anyone running, but she vaguely remembered the sound of a bird's wings… That was all. She hadn't heard footsteps, or a car, or anything like that. There were buildings lining around the park, had someone seen someone fleeing the scene? It had been so late at night and so dark, she didn't think it was possible to see clearly from those windows.
What bothered her more was why this witness had suddenly come forward. Had the investigation prodded questions from the neighborhood around the area? She was the only known witness at the start of the investigation, and she knew all her answers didn't have any good leads. What's more, the military hadn't made this investigation public. There were no newspaper ads calling for information or radio announcements. The only people that knew about this murder were those involved in Hughes' personal life and those in the military that worked with him. Maybe his obituary had caught someone's attention? But even in this city, obituaries were normally only reserved for significant people. Hughes was a great soldier, but Central was practically overflowing with soldiers, he wouldn't have been noticed unless he was of a higher rank. Perhaps his post-mortem promotion had gotten him an article? The fact that there were no answers to these questions running in her mind bothered her, and she didn't realize that she had been staring at her plate with a furrowed brow until someone reached out to her.
She looked up to see Philip looking at her concernedly, "Are you alright, Amelia?"
"Oh… yeah, I'm fine." She went back to her plate and started to eat, "Just thinking is all."
"You were thinking really hard about something." Strongine said, "Do you know this Maria Ross?"
"She was Alex's guest to the family reunion." Catherine noted, "Amelia introduced me. She seemed like a lovely woman."
"Yeah, she's a decent person." Amelia agreed, and that was why it didn't make sense to her that Maria Ross was being indicted in this murder. She didn't seem the type to kill in cold blood, and she wasn't sure if that's just how it was because of the image she had of her in her own mind, or if it was because that didn't fit her character. Then again, she hadn't known her very long… Would it be unreasonable for her to kill? A better question would be what her motive was in killing him since she only saw that woman coming out of the archive room. She had dark hair like the lieutenant's, but hers was long, and wavy, and dressed like she was going out on the town. She was caught up in her thoughts through most of the dinner, replaying the images and scenes she had come across in her mind until she was sent to bed for the night.
The next morning, Amelia was picked up by a tired-looking Major who brought her to work with him, "So what happened? I didn't hear any news at breakfast. Everyone said you just went straight to bed when you came back."
"I tried to get in touch with the people investigating." Armstrong said, "But they weren't in, so today we're going in to investigate a little more." He looked over his shoulder at her, "I want you to keep your distance a bit. This is a sensitive investigation, and you may be called upon to testify, I can't let any information cloud what you know about that night."
"Okay…" She didn't feel all that sure about it, but she was on board with trying to find out exactly what happened that night and why the evidence pointed to Maria Ross. "Where's our first stop?"
"Do you remember the name of the man leading the investigation? I know he interviewed you."
"Yeah, um… something Douglas, or Douglas something I think. I don't remember if that was his first or last name." She followed behind him into the car, getting in the passenger's seat. "Are we going to find him?"
"As one of the leading members of the investigations department, I have a right to see that evidence against the Second Lieutenant." He said as he started the car engine, "And I plan to see exactly who this witness is, as well."
In another room, Maria Ross couldn't help but feel uneasy as she looked across at the investigations officer who was staring her down. She had been arrested yesterday, her gun had been confiscated, as had her uniform and everything else on her. She had been dressed in prison uniform and had her identification bracelet hanging from her wrist. The interrogations room had always felt cold to her, with stone walls and metal furniture, but it felt especially cold now that she was the one being interrogated.
She watched as Officer Douglas reached for a small bag marked Evidence and opened it, a single bullet falling out. It had been softened and squished from the power of being fired from a gun. Douglas's finger tapped at the concaved top of it, "This is the bullet that killed Brigadier General Hughes." He stated, "It's a .45 caliber. The killer used only this one bullet; I'd say it was a good shot, but it was at point-blank range. Close enough that even a poor shot could have done it." The light caused a glare in his round glasses that made it difficult for the Lieutenant to see his eyes as he told her all of this, "Now, tell me… what is the caliber of the gun that you carry?"
"It's a… a .45, sir." Ross answered, she didn't think it was relevant before, it was a standard gun for the military in Central.
Officer Douglas reached for a sheet of paper and showed it to her, "Here we have a copy of your requisition form for additional ammunition. Does this look correct?" Maria couldn't help but think that his voice was colder than this room as he asked her. She nodded affirmatively. "It says here you fired exactly one shot. What was that round used for?"
"It lists the reason right there on the form." Maria answered, "I fired my weapon in defense of Edward Elric while in the Fifth Laboratory." She clearly remembered it, firing at that strange man in a suit of armor as he attacked Alphonse, she had shot right through his glove.
"Hmm…" He didn't sound convinced, "But the Fifth Laboratory is no longer operational. It remains unmanned."
"It was definitely not unmanned., Maria said firmly.
"Sure, according to your account," Douglas replied in that same cold tone of voice, and Maria felt a chill go down her spine. "Shall I send someone to search for this bullet you say you fired?"
Maria knew where he was leading this conversation, and she knew it wouldn't look good, "There was an unexplained explosion at the site. The Fifth Laboratory is now a pile of rubble…"
"So, the place where you claim to have used your gun was unmanned, and if we looked for the bullet all we would be able to find is a pile of rubble. Is that what you're saying?" Maria felt as if there was a rock in her stomach, a heavy weight that was trying to pull her down into the earth. She wished it would hurry up and do just that to get her out of this room. She hated that things were lining up in this way, but she knew she was innocent. There was no way they had any other leads than this one bullet… "But Lieutenant, we have eyewitness testimony. You were spotted leaving the scene on the day of the murder, at the same time as the shooting."
"That's impossible!" She exclaimed.
"Calm down, Lieutenant." Douglas's cold voice clammed her mouth shut. "Fine then, so what were you doing at that time?"
"I had the day off," Maria answered. "I was at my parents' house, visiting. Please, check with them. They'll tell you." It had been her father's birthday. They were celebrating for most of the night. It wasn't possible that someone had seen her fleeing the scene of the crime when she was all the way across town from it.
"All you can offer us is your family's testimony?" Douglas questioned, "That is not admissible as an alibi." His freezing tone made that weight in her stomach grow even heavier, and she realized that heavy feeling was dread at what was to come.
Amelia and the Major arrived at Central Headquarters and the first thing they did was look into the head officer of the Hughes' investigation. His name was Henry Douglas, a colonel, and as they asked for where he was, his secretary told them that he was currently in the interrogations room outside of the Central Prison. They questioned the secretary a little more to get the story of how Maria Ross was charged. Apparently, someone had come forward about that night, but the witness name was being kept anonymous and was blacked out from their testimony report. There was also more evidence in that Maria Ross had asked for more ammunition a few days after the murder, and that had caught someone's attention in that investigation. The secretary was glad to give them a copy of the evidence file for the Major, though they didn't think it would do them much good. The next step was to speak to the second lieutenant herself, as well as Colonel Douglas in the interrogations building and they left quickly. It was a long walk there, but they arrived within the hour.
The Major walked up the steps, and one of the officers by the door stepped in front to stop him, saluting him at attention, prompting the Major to do the same. "I need to speak with Colonel Douglas right away."
"I'm sorry, sir, but entry has been forbidden to anyone and everyone until they have finished questioning Maria Ross." The officer apologized. "You will have to return later if you wish to speak with Colonel Douglas."
"I see…" The Major clearly wasn't happy with this, but he knew the procedure. Still, closed questionings weren't normally reserved for fellow officers in his experience. But with things as they were now, he wouldn't be able to do much for the Second Lieutenant, so he turned around. Amelia let out a sound of protest, but she could only glare at the officers guarding the door before following after her teacher.
"We're not seriously just leaving?" She asked as they made their way down the steps.
"There is nothing we can do regarding Colonel Douglas at this moment," Armstrong said, "So we'll need to look at the remaining evidence on file." He heard quick footsteps and looked ahead to see a familiar face as he called out to him.
"Major Armstrong!"
"Sergeant Brosh." The two saluted each other, Brosh looking out of breath as he looked up at his superior officer.
"I'm glad to see you here, Major," Brosh said, relieved.
"Is this about Second Lieutenant Ross?" Armstrong asked, and Brosh nodded.
"Yes, that's right, sir." Once he answered, the Major dropped his salute and started to walk, "The truth is…" He trailed off, glancing at the soldiers stationed at the door before walking beside him, speaking a little more quietly so no one else would hear them beyond Amelia as she followed with them, "Major, I can corroborate her story. Lieutenant Ross and I both fired a round from our weapons at the Fifth Laboratory to defend the Elric brothers."
"You did?"
"Yes," Brosh confirmed, "And it's all written in my report, but everyone's ignoring it, sir. They rejected it from evidence, saying it was irrelevant to the case."
"Hmm…" Armstrong couldn't shake the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach at this news, "Are they trying to frame the Second Lieutenant for this?"
"Why would they do that?" Amelia asked, "If anything, this just seems like a bad series of coincidences lining up for her… and they're just ignoring everything else…" It did make sense that they were framing her, but why? Just because she made a request for extra ammunition and they decided to make her the scapegoat? What made them choose her over every other officer available to them? She couldn't have been the only one requesting ammunition that day. "I take back what I just said."
"Let's take a closer look at the investigations file," Armstrong said, and Brosh nodded in agreement as he followed him back to the investigations department.
Inside the Major's office, he had spread out every page of the evidence file on his desk, Amelia and Brosh were both looking over different parts of it with him.
"I don't know why they included my testimony in this. I didn't point to Maria Ross at all." She said as she looked over the paper that bore her own words, with her signature down at the bottom.
"And the new witness testimony is pretty bare on details." Brosh said as he looked over what he had, "It lists the time, and a description that fits Second Lieutenant Ross, but not much else. There's no mention of hearing the shots or calling an ambulance. Just looking out their window and seeing someone running from the park."
"I heard the gunshot, but I didn't see anyone running from the scene." Amelia said, "But it was also pretty dark… I couldn't make out much of anything." She tried to remember if she had seen anything, but she really couldn't remember much. Everything had happened so fast and she had been so focused on helping Hughes that nothing had really caught her attention besides that...
"Other than this ammunition request, this conviction is relying entirely on the new witness testimony," Armstrong said as he looked over the rest of the evidence they had at their disposal. "And the witness chose to remain anonymous when their statement was taken…" His fingers moved up and stroked at his wide chin as he looked over the new witness statement from over the sergeant's shoulder.
"So, what do you think that means?" Brosh asked, looking up at him.
"I think it means this witness won't testify in court." Armstrong said, "They want their identity kept hidden for a reason. I can only imagine if this were brought before a jury, the witness would likely have to be produced at the request of the defense. I have no doubt that a proper lawyer will make sure they have their direct testimony for a jury. Whoever it is would risk their identity if they want to go forward with this conviction… And if they won't give it for something like a statement, I doubt they will appear in court."
"Then there's a good chance their case would fall apart without that testimony." Amelia said, "Do we know who's going to be representing her in court?"
"She was only arrested yesterday evening." Armstrong said, "I don't think a lawyer has been called, the Ross family doesn't have the contact information for one, and I doubt they would be able to easily come up with the funds for a private one…"
"So, she'll get a public one, right?" Amelia asked.
"No, those lawyers aren't assigned to murder cases," Armstrong said, and Amelia's eyes widened.
"What do you mean? The Lieutenant has a right to an attorney, doesn't she?" It was basic Miranda rights back in the United States, it was repeated whenever someone made an arrest: You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you.
"No, Amestris does not give that inherent right to the public, much less to their soldiers. But all here do have the right to a trial." Armstrong replied, "We'll likely need to find one for her, I'm sure I can work out some funding measures from my own savings on the Lieutenant's behalf."
"Major, are you sure you want to do that?" The sergeant asked concernedly, "Those guys can be really expensive."
"If we are certain of the Lieutenant's innocence, I do not want to take any chances." He looked over at Sergeant Brosh, "I want you to contact my father, we have the name of a lawyer in the family, he'll have his contact information. Once you have it, give it to me, and I'll see to bringing him into Central to defend Lieutenant Ross." Brosh nodded and went to do just that.
"What do you want me to do?" Amelia asked, looking up at the Major as he started to gather all the evidence and put it away.
"I want you to begin studying your alchemy textbook." The Major ordered.
"What?! But what about the investigation?" She wanted to help as much as she could, the Lieutenant was a good person that didn't deserve any of what was happening to her.
"It's better that you don't get any more involved in this than you already have." The Major advised, and his voice softened as he added, "For your own safety." Amelia could understand why he would be worried. Hughes' death was a message to anyone pursuing that same information that he was, and he didn't want her to get too caught up in it. She sighed as she sat back in her chair.
"I'm already involved, there's not much point in keeping this from me now." She said as she opened her book and started on the next chapter, and her teacher said nothing as he kept on working as normal, though there was a clear tension between the two of them. Armstrong knew that she was right, but he didn't want to risk his student's life any more than it was at risk now. She knew about the Philosopher's Stone and its primary ingredients, she was a witness to a murder done as a message from these people, she was only one of two people who had seen one of the faces associated with this group of Ouroboros tattoos. She was at risk much more than he was, but he didn't want to push his luck. Amelia was a child, with too much information, her death would be a terrible tragedy and he did not want to live through that after already losing one of his dearest comrades and most reliable friends… but now he was living through it again, his subordinate accused of the murder of that same comrade.
He sighed and simply looked over what information he could to prove Maria Ross's innocence, looking up when the Sergeant returned with the contact information and he began to speak to his family lawyer about the case in their presence.
The conversation went on for the better part of an hour, with Armstrong detailing everything he had in the case file, as well as speaking about how suspicious it was that they had denied the corroboration of the Sergeant and going over all the details for the defensive argument. Once that was finished, they went back to work for the Investigations department of the military since there was nothing to be done until Armstrong's lawyer could speak to Lieutenant Ross tomorrow. He doubted that they would have very long until her trial began if they were so quick to finger her for Hughes' murder, so he wanted to make sure he could help her as soon as possible.
As the day dragged on, Lieutenant Ross was the only thing on their minds. Sergeant Brosh was anxious, worrying about her state in interrogations, hoping that her cell was relatively clean and comfortable until her trial. The Major was dreading the trial, knowing that if this was how quick they went in accusing her, the trial itself would likely be held in a limited amount of time and he hoped that the presiding judge would be patient. Amelia feared for her, knowing she had been pulled into this because of her connections to Hughes, and maybe the Elric brothers. She could still remember the cold look in the eyes of the woman that left the archive room, how her sultry voice had spoken about someone else taking care of things… She was lucky that didn't mean her. Still, these people clearly held a grudge, was this their way of getting back at Armstrong? Send a message by killing Hughes, and then another by having Lieutenant Ross investigated? Or were they just trying to cover their tracks? So many questions swirled in her mind that went unanswered.
The day ended as normal, and Armstrong went to return home with Amelia while Sergeant Brosh stayed behind to work more on his cases, but they knew he would be looking into Ross's case file a little bit, too. They went back to the estate and joined the family at dinner.
Things were normal again in that brief moment, and Amelia had to admit that it was welcome after all the stress of the day. The Major filled in his family on all that was happening and explained that he was going to use their usual lawyer to defend his subordinate. His father wholeheartedly supported his decision and said he was more than welcome to it. He smiled at the news of his family's support and they continued on with their usual talk.
"By the way, Amelia," The girl looked up at Josephine as she mentioned her name, "How is your alchemy training going?"
"Oh…" She glanced over at the Major, who gave her a sheepish look in return, "Well, it's been kind of slow-going lately. I've mostly just been reading the textbooks and other stuff… And I get some questions in, but the Major has been pretty busy at work."
"I see." Josephine's expression shifted to a concerned frown, looking over at the Major, "Alex, have you been prioritizing work over your teaching duties?"
"Not prioritizing, Mother…" He said, "It has simply been a balancing act between work and teaching. It is difficult, but what we have now is…" He glanced over at Amelia, "...Far from ideal, but it is the best we can do at this time. At least until we have lessened the workload for the Investigations Department." And Amelia knew that Ross's arrest on top of this didn't make it better. They had been struggling in the weeks following the Lieutenant Colonel's murder, and they were now both facing a solution to their problem that neither of them wanted.
Amelia was going to need a new alchemy teacher. They both knew it, but Amelia was reluctant to leave the Armstrong family who had welcomed her so readily and doubted she could find another teacher who would give her the same freedom that Armstrong did. She didn't like being in the cage that she had as a convicted felon, but it was a nice cage. She didn't want to trade it for a real one, and Armstrong didn't want to have to put her through the stress of having a teacher that wouldn't show her the proper attention and focus only on keeping their bonus for teaching her. He knew there were definitely alchemists who had gotten their certification only for the power and prestige that it carried and abused that power whenever they had the chance. On top of that, he had become attached to Amelia, he saw her as another member of his family and with her age, she might as well have been his younger sister or his daughter.
He reached over and pat the top of her head and smiled as he heard her groaning and reached up to swat his big hand away. Maybe it was time to face the fact that he was no longer the ideal teacher he thought he would be for her… He would need to discuss that with her in more detail.
Once everyone had finished, the dishes were cleared, and a butler came in, "The evening edition for you, Master Philip." He said, carrying a newspaper on a platter.
"Ah, thank you, Horace." He said as he unfolded it and looked at the story on the front page. No one really noticed how his face went pale, "Alex?" He looked over at his father, "What did you say the name of your subordinate was?"
"Second Lieutenant Maria Ross." He answered, "Why?"
His father said nothing as he held out the paper to his son, who came over to take it and looked at the front page. He gasped at the article on the front that bore Maria Ross's picture with the headline, "Major Conviction in Murder Case - Maria Ross Found Guilty."
"This can't be right…!" The Major went pale as he looked at the article, hardly able to read the small text that told the story of her guilty verdict made in a sealed courtroom. He threw it down on the table and Amelia caught sight of the headline, her eyes widening as she grabbed the paper.
"What?! That's not fair!" She said, "First they did an improper investigation, and now she's guilty?!" The rest of the Armstrong family looked over at Amelia and Armstrong as they processed this new information. "This doesn't make any sense! There wasn't any outcry, they had no reason to streamline the trial in a sealed…" She felt her stomach drop as she realized this was exactly what was planned. They were framing the Second Lieutenant for the murder of Brigadier General Hughes and putting her before the firing squad tomorrow morning, for reasons unknown to her or the Major. She looked up at her teacher, "What happens now?"
She didn't notice that Armstrong's fists had clenched, and were shaking, "We are going to speak to Colonel Douglas now." He said firmly, "I'm going to stop this from happening at all costs! Second Lieutenant Ross is innocent, and he knows it!" He marched out of the dining room and Amelia followed him, leaving the evening edition of the paper behind as she followed her teacher out of the house.
The trip to Central Headquarters was quick, mostly because it was the Major doing the driving. He was in a state that Amelia had never really seen him in, looking downright furious at the road as if it were the one that finalized Maria Ross's conviction. She hadn't even closed the door before they took off, being jostled around in the backseat in a way that almost made her sick as they sped down the roads to the building. Once the car was parked, the Major stormed his way to the front door, and she scurried behind him. He was a man on a mission, and it wasn't until now that she realized just how much of her time spent walking with him was also him slowing himself down, so she wouldn't have to catch up. He stood at about seven feet, maybe taller, and she naturally had an issue keeping pace behind a man who had such longer legs than her.
She barely paid attention to the halls they were going down until he stopped at one of the rooms and pushed the doors open. Amelia could see it was some kind of communications room, the walls lined with telephones and radios for communication, and a map of the city planted on a corkboard to the side. Just by the phone, she recognized the bespectacled man with his hand on the receiver.
"Douglas!" Armstrong almost snarled out his name as he stormed towards him, the man visibly shaken at the sight of the much larger officer coming over to him, "What is the meaning of this investigation?! Why is Maria Ross convicted overnight?!"
"There was a shift in schedule, her trial was moved up." Douglas said, "Major, calm down. You know you cannot do anything to overturn her conviction." Amelia saw how the Major's fists clenched tightly, looking ready to clock him.
"This investigation was a farce!" Armstrong barked, "You intended to frame Lieutenant Ross from the beginning!"
"I was only following protocol, Major. You know more than anyone else how limiting that protocol can be." Douglas said, keeping his voice calm in an effort to calm the Major, "With the evidence we presented, the judge found Maria Ross guilty… though it seems that she may have admitted it herself."
"What do you mean?" Armstrong asked.
"There's no way she confessed!" Amelia said quickly.
"We were relaying information about the situation before you stormed in," Douglas explained, "Maria Ross has just escaped from prison with the help of a violent accomplice." The Major's eyes widened at the news, "We just put out an APB for her, soldiers are being sent out to find her and arrest her."
"What are the orders?" The major asked.
"The orders are to arrest her, so she can face her execution tomorrow morning, as scheduled." Douglas said, "If she resists, shoot to kill." Amelia's face went a little pale, and Armstrong stood at attention for a moment.
"Then I presume you won't mind if I join in the manhunt?" He asked, and Douglas's eyes narrowed.
"Major, given your emotional state and your reaction to this news, it would obviously be a mistake to let you go out looking for her." Douglas replied, "You are welcome to remain here as we look for her, but if I find that you have joined in this manhunt, you will be suspended immediately for impeding an arrest."
"What about me? What if I wanted to join in?" Amelia piped up, getting his attention, seeing Douglas quirk an eyebrow as she spoke.
"Miss Seymour, not only are you a witness, but you are a civilian." Douglas said, "We cannot trust you on this hunt, either."
"Then we will take our leave." Armstrong said, "My car is waiting outside."
"One of my men will see you out." Douglas nodded his head toward one of the soldiers, who saluted in response and went to the Major's side.
"Follow me, sir." He said as he went to the door, with Armstrong and Amelia starting to leave.
"Major," Douglas's voice called out to Armstrong's back, "If I find out that you've joined in this manhunt, that you're involved in any way in her escape, I can promise you that there will be severe consequences." He glared at the larger man as if he could tower over him, but Armstrong was not intimidated by him, standing his ground.
"Understood, sir." And with that, he turned back around, and he left. He was silent, as was the soldier walking with them. Amelia had a hundred questions about what they were going to do now, but she couldn't say anything with one of Douglas's men nearby. She walked with them out of the building to the still-running car engine. The Major took his seat up front and Amelia beside him.
Once the doors were shut she looked over at the Major, "We have to go find Ross." She said.
"We cannot," Armstrong said firmly as he started to drive away.
"What?! Why not?" Amelia felt her own furious fire starting to burn at his response, "You and I both know this investigation was a load of horse shit! Lieutenant Ross is innocent! We could help her escape!"
"You don't think I know that?" Armstrong said as he continued to drive, "But just as we are aware of it, I'm certain that Colonel Douglas knows as well. I have no doubt he'll be watching us."
"Screw Douglas! He's just some pencil-pusher that can't see beyond his stupid papers!" Amelia snapped, "We can't just let them go out and kill her! We don't know who she escaped with, or how dangerous they are. We have to help her!"
"Amelia, you do not understand what is at risk with this," Armstrong said as he took a turn down a street that they didn't use before if Amelia had enough sense of what going on other than her argument. "Douglas could have my alchemist certification suspended, even removed."
"So, what?! He doesn't have any evidence that we've done anything." Amelia insisted. "We can go back to the estate and wear disguises or something! If we're careful, maybe we can find her before anyone knows!"
"Amelia, I cannot risk losing my certification." Armstrong put his foot down, "Do you realize if I lost my certification, you would lose your alchemy teacher? Do you think any other alchemist would put their trust in a convicted felon as I have done with you?"
"And that means Lieutenant Ross has to die for the sake of your certification?!"
Armstrong slammed his foot down on the brakes and the car jolted as it suddenly stopped, Amelia could hear the tires squealing against the road as she knocked into the dashboard of the front.
"YOU SPOILED CHILD!" Armstrong's head snapped to the side to yell in his booming voice that, until now, she had only ever heard for happy occasions, "YOU CANNOT ASK FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT AND THINK NOTHING OF THE CONSEQUENCES!" Amelia was stunned to her core to hear his voice like this, hearing not only the anger and frustration but also heartache. But even more than that, he had never once raised his voice to her in anger, he had never shown this kind of behavior, and it was shocking. Before he spoke again, Armstrong took a breath and looked ahead of him, speaking in a much softer voice, "Lieutenant Ross is one of my most valued officers… not just for her work, but because of who she is. We have worked together for years. I detest this situation as much as you do, but we cannot risk involvement. And now because of the entire scene I created with Douglas, he will be keeping a closer eye on us until it is over." He turned back to her, and Amelia saw tears welling up in his eyes, "Amelia, if I lose my certification, you will be taken away from me. As much as I want to help Lieutenant Ross, I do not want to risk losing you as well, though now it seems inevitable…" He brought one hand to his face to cover it as his voice shook, "I know that my schedule has made things impossible to teach you… and I know that we will have to seek out a new teacher for you. But at least if I keep my certification, I can give you to someone that I know we can trust, not have you randomly assigned to any alchemist that will take you…" Amelia began to relax as she saw tears streaming down her teacher's cheeks from underneath his fingers.
She didn't realize how much Armstrong was doing for her as his teacher. She sat quietly in her seat as she let him cry for a few seconds before speaking, "I know I've been demanding a lot of you. Your time and energy, and freedom that I'm technically not supposed to have to begin with…" She looked down at her hands, starting to figure out just how much more of a burden she had been on the Major, not just as an extra responsibility, but also as someone who was being cared for by him. "But… we can't just leave the Lieutenant to them. If the order is to shoot to kill, just for resisting…"
"I know." The Major leaned forward as his shoulders shook and Amelia could see this was affecting him so much more than it was her, "I know." He pulled his hand away to reach into his pocket for his silver pocket watch. Amelia had hardly ever seen him touch it as he held it in his palm, "But my certification is the only tool I have to influence any of this. If I lose it, I lose everything… but sometimes I wonder if the price is worth it." His words held a heavy tone as if he was speaking about more than just what was happening with Lieutenant Ross. He was a man who had seen a great deal, in his work investigating however many murders there were, but also in the battlefield… What was it that had caused him to leave in the civil war? Amelia could only imagine what he had seen.
"I'm sorry." She said softly and watched as the Major put his watch back into his pocket.
"Amelia," He held out a hand for her and she moved a little closer and he hugged her tightly, "I am sorry, too. For raising my voice, and for putting you in this situation."
Amelia felt her eyes welling up, "We can't just… we can't just leave this." She said. And the Major sighed, "We can't just leave her at the mercy of the military. They'll kill her, won't they? If not today, then tomorrow if she's even captured alive."
"Amelia-"
He was cut off when the ground suddenly rumbled, and a sudden FWOOM rang out through the air that passed through their car.
"What the fuck?" Amelia jumped up, looking around for whatever that sound was, but could see nothing. It was then that she noticed the street itself, "Where are we?"
"We're just outside of the warehouse district." Armstrong changed gears in the car, wiping away his tears as he turned the steering wheel and started down the street again.
"What was that noise?" She asked as she sat back down.
"I fear I know what it was." Armstrong said grimly, "It was something I became familiar with during the civil war…" He took another turn down the street, and Amelia looked down every road for some kind of sign of what was going on. Was Maria Ross this way? She wasn't sure. There was a moment when she thought she saw a pair of figures - one large and one slim - moving over the tops of the roofs, but she wasn't sure. It could have just been a chimney or two.
They drove down the street until they came across a small crowd forming just outside of an alley entrance, and they brought the car to a stop. They stepped out, seeing a few soldiers from the investigations department moving around the area, taking pictures and sending people away. "Stay here," Armstrong said as he went to speak to the men present, they prevented him from getting too close to what they were doing, but after sharing a few words he seemed satisfied and was about to leave before they called him back. Amelia's eyes widened at the sight of Edward and Alphonse coming out of the alleyway and walking back with him to the car. She looked back at them as they got into the back seats, Alphonse making himself as small as possible while Edward squeezed into what was left of that small space.
"What happened?" She asked.
"...Maria Ross was killed." The Major said, the words sending a sudden sense of numbness through Amelia, "Colonel Mustang found her as she was escaping… and burned her to death. Her body was taken to the morgue to be identified." Amelia slumped down in her seat as Armstrong started up the engine and started driving elsewhere, "The Elric brothers were present when it happened. We'll go and see to her body. And send word to her family." Amelia didn't respond as they continued into the night. The Elric brothers didn't say anything about it, either. The ride was silent other than the rumbling of the engine.
Once they arrived at the morgue, they were told a Doctor Knox was in the process of identifying Maria Ross through her autopsy, they were directed to where he was working, though they were advised not to go in. Roy Mustang was already there ahead of them, sitting and waiting for the results. Amelia looked over the man warily, this was the guy that had killed Maria Ross? She remembered him from her trip out with Armstrong to East City… and from that night with McDougal, but they hadn't met up too much otherwise. She was glad for that much, she didn't really want to feel anything for Maria Ross's killer other than her own hatred for the man. How could he do that? From what the workers had told them, she was burned beyond recognition… she could only imagine what that looked like, though she didn't particularly want to picture it. She didn't really want to find out what it looked like, either.
She looked over when she heard clanking and saw Alphonse moving between his brother and Edward when he saw his older brother glaring at the man. He put his hand on Edward's shoulder and turned him around, so he would face Armstrong instead.
"We heard about what happened to Brigadier General Hughes," Alphonse said, his helmet tilted to meet the eyes of Armstrong. "When we saw the evening edition of the newspaper, we went looking for the Lieutenant…"
"It's alright." Armstrong said, "You don't have to tell me." Alphonse's helmet tilted forward, and Amelia could see a little of the young boy that he was as his head hung down like that. "I'm truly sorry for not telling you about Brigadier General Hughes' death sooner."
Edward's head hung a little lower, his shoulders tensing up, "It's my fault…" He said quietly, and Amelia looked over at him.
"No, it's not." She said, getting his attention, "You're not responsible for what happened." She shifted a little bit, trying to remember the words that had been said to her, "You're never responsible for the actions of others. You can't let that kind of guilt get to you," Armstrong looked over at her as she said this, "That feeling will just weigh you down for the rest of your life." Edward seemed placated from her words, and Amelia felt someone's hand on her shoulder, looking up at her teacher as he squeezed her shoulder gently before pulling his hand back to his side. She appreciated the small gesture, his own way of showing support. She had to wonder if he saw what she did in Edward as he said those words. She could easily see herself in him, her own guilt after Hughes' death, the image of herself breaking down at the piano at the family reunion.
Before he could say anything more, the doors opened, and a man stepped out, dressed in a long white smock and scrubs, holding a clipboard and chewing a toothpick, "Is everyone here then?" He asked in a gruff voice.
"Doctor Knox," Armstrong nodded as he greeted the man, who looked as miserable as they felt as he brought up the clipboard.
"Her body was almost completely destroyed." He said, "But judging from what little dental work remained, I was able to conclude that this was, indeed, Maria Ross." He flipped through the pages and shook his head in disapproval, "It's an awful thing you did; Turning a beauty like her into a pile of charcoal." He turned to look at Mustang with a scowl on his face, speaking as if a disappointed and frustrated parent might speak to their child, "You must have held quite a grudge against her, didn't you, Colonel?" The man looked up at the mention of his title, "Is the vengeance as sweet as you imagined it?" Mustang met his eyes only a second longer before turning away from him, Dr. Knox scoffed at the sight and turned to walk away, saying over his shoulder, "The famous hero of the Ishvalan War going this far against a little girl. It makes me sick."
Edward grit his teeth as the cold truth in Doctor Knox's words rang out through all of them. Mustang felt he had heard all he needed to and stood up to leave, but Armstrong stepped closer to him, "Colonel, please allow me to apologize for one of my own officer's actions." Armstrong's voice made him pause and turn back over his shoulder. He could easily see the clenched fists at the Major's sides as they trembled with the strength he held them back with, his expression deeply set in anger, "I could never have imagined that Second Lieutenant Ross would have committed such a heinous murder. She was so straightforward… and earnest… compassionate… A truly fine officer…!" Amelia could see the Major was on the brink, he looked ready to take Mustang and throttle him, throw him to the wall to see how he'd like to die. Amelia stepped forward to put her hand on his arm, and he forced himself to calm down.
He took a breath and sat on a nearby bench, bringing his hand up to his head to ease the wrinkled space between his furrowed brows. "Fatigue seems to be getting the best of you, Major. Perhaps you should take some leave." Mustang said, and the Major lifted his head, "Back east, where I was, it's a nice place. None of the big city noise, and lots of beautiful women." Armstrong didn't respond, and the Colonel took his leave.
Edward turned to kick at a metal garbage can, knocking it over. His breath pushed through his teeth, furious in his own right at everything that had happened. Alphonse didn't stop him as he kicked it a second time. They all knew this wasn't fair, none of this was right, but it happened. And all of them knew it was impossible to turn back the clock and create a better outcome, as much as they all wished they could.
"I should return Amelia to the Armstrong estate." The Major said, looking over at his student, "It's been a long night. I'm sure you're tired." Amelia didn't really respond to that, other than just letting out a small hum. She did feel tired, emotionally at least. This was exhausting, and she wasn't sure that Ross's death had entirely sunk in yet as she glanced at the doors to the morgue where she had been examined. What would become of her body? "I'll contact her family once we return home. They'll want to hear what's happened to her."
"Yeah…" Edward sighed. He looked over at them, trying to think of something to say to try and… make this feel a little less incomplete, but there really wasn't any way to do that. They didn't say anything more as the Major walked out with Amelia and they went back to the estate.
The next day, Armstrong was given leave time for the next few days. He didn't ask for it, but it was given to him. He tried to look at it as an opportunity to help Amelia more with her alchemy training, but also to help her in the search for an alchemy teacher. He informed his family of what had become of his officer, and of course, they all offered their condolences and even shed a few tears with him. The morning after Ross's death was spent in mourning, the family crying with Alex Armstrong as he mourned the loss of his officer, someone he knew and was friends with. He didn't tell them that it was his superior officer that killed her, but they didn't need to know.
The day carried on afterwards, just to get back into a routine and try to move on from what had happened. Amelia and Armstrong spent the better part of the morning in training, practicing transmutations and helping Amelia to better understand the chemical makeup of common things she might come across if she had to defend herself. It seemed alchemy's main purpose was combative, and the Major made sure to teach her a little of boxing, so she knew how to give out hits to defend herself if she had to.
At lunch, a phone call came in for the Major and as he went to take it, Horace went over to Amelia, "Here, Miss Seymour. This letter arrived for you today."
"A letter for me?" She was surprised she got mail at all as she took the envelope, checking the return address, and smiling as she recognized the name, "Oh, it's Richard." He did mention he planned to write her. "Thank you, Horace." He nodded and left, and Amelia went about opening the letter as she followed behind her teacher, barely hearing him as he spoke on the phone, pulling out the first page to read over it.
Dear Amelia,
I've just returned to my bookshop as I write this letter. I have been thinking about you a surprising deal since the reunion. You have such an analytic mind, the way you spoke about the Golden Rose series has me re-thinking the entire thing. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know-
The sound of the phone hitting the receiver a little harshly caught Amelia's attention away from the letter, seeing a dark expression coming over Armstrong's face, "Teacher?" He didn't seem alright.
"Amelia, go and pack some clothes for the next couple of days." Armstrong said, "We're going to take a little trip." He started to walk away to his own room, and she followed behind him.
"We are?" She was confused, "But I thought we were doing alchemy lessons…?"
"I'm afraid your options here are to come with me or be placed in military custody at headquarters if you will not join me." Armstrong said, and Amelia's eyes widened.
"What?!"
"I have my orders." That was his only explanation before he went into his room, closing the door behind him.
"Orders?" She stared at the door in confusion, wondering just what that phone call had been about, but she didn't particularly want to go back to the jail cell and went to her room to get clothes ready for the next couple of days.
They ended up taking a taxi away from the estate, and drove down the main street, "This is really weird, where are we going?" She wanted to know exactly what was going on.
"I was only told that I need to rendezvous in Resembool." He said, "Apparently, my leave time is part of something else."
Amelia frowned as she looked over the different buildings as they drove by them, "You mean from that colonel guy?"
"Yes." His voice had the undertone of a growl, clearly not happy to mention Colonel Mustang.
"What's his deal?" She asked, "Is he just trying to get you on his good side or something?"
"I don't know, we'll know more about what's happening once we arrive in Resembool." Armstrong said, directing the car to stop in front of a building, Amelia looking up at it curiously.
"This isn't the train station…" She turned to see the Major making his way out of the car.
"I need to pick up someone here." He said before he went inside, leaving Amelia in the car with the cab driver for a few quiet, awkward minutes until Armstrong came back out, carrying a surprising sight under his arm.
"Is that Edward?" Amelia's confusion only grew as he put the smaller boy down next to the car, seeing him opening the door and Armstrong came around, pushing Amelia into the middle seat. She looked over at the blonde to see her own confusion mirrored on his face.
"Do you have any idea what this is about?" He asked, and Amelia shook her head.
Armstrong directed the driver onwards to the train station. Amelia couldn't help but dread whatever was about to come, all this mystery after days of more mystery and confusion couldn't be a good thing.