For any one curious, you guys are probably wondering why the lengths of the chapters are so... scattered. I'll post one chapter that is 6,000 words and the next one will be barely 3,500 words.
Here is why:
Unless I decided that the chapter is going to end with a cliff hanger (ex: chapters 5, 6, & 7) I essentially end a chapter when I'm bored with writing it.
It's also why I am able to spit out chapters every 1-3 days. Covid-19 is also a reason for that, but it's not the main reason.
But here's my question, and I really want EVERYONE'S opinion on this.
Would y'all rather me write 2-3 chapters, combine them into one chapter that'll be (average) 7,500+ words, but only post roughly once a week/ten days?
OR
Would y'all rather me continue posting as I have been?
I'm okay either way, I'm just curious as to what you guys think/want.
Lieutenant General Albert George Grumman was the strangest man that Roy had ever met in his entire life.
He wasn't strange like his late Son-in-Law had been. Berthold Hawkeye's strangeness was one that caused people in cringe and shy away in fear and discomfort, feeling sympathy for his only daughter, but ultimately doing nothing for her in terms of getting her a better home life.
No. Albert Grumman, or Al as he liked to be called, was strange in an entertaining way.
Roy found it very hard not to laugh when he or one of his fellow rank members got their asses chewed and handed back to them by a Colonel or a Major, usually for a stupid reason or no reason at all, who then got an ass chewing of their own from Grumman because they yelled at the lower ranking members.
So Grumman cared about the under dog, or at least he appeared to. What an interesting career path Roy had chosen.
He couldn't wait until he was able to take the State Alchemist exam in Central City. The exam was held every six months, and you were required to have a representative that was a rank of Major or higher to be able to even take the exam.
While Roy was confident in his skills with Flame Alchemy (he nearly set the chicken coop at old Hawkeye estate on fire, much to his delight and Riza's horror) he was having no luck on the representative aspect of it.
The next exam was three months away. And with a possible baby on the way, the extra money from being a State Alchemist and the pay raise from becoming a Major was very beneficial.
It wasn't that he didn't make a lot of money as a Corporal, because he did. He definitely brought in more money every two weeks then Berthold Hawkeye brought in Riza's entire life. Roy just never wanted to have to worry about their financial stability, especially since he and Riza desired to have a large family.
This was where his secret Grandfather-in-Law came in.
Grumman, for whatever reason all his own, had taken a liking to Roy. He didn't know why the old man liked talking to him- although he did suspect that Grumman knew he was married to his granddaughter- he just did.
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, but why are we playing Chess?" Roy asked, staring at the pieces on the board in front of him.
Sure he had played the game once or twice before, he just wasn't very good at it.
"Because I wish to talk to you." Grumman said simply.
"About?"
"I've read your paperwork, Mustang. It says in your file that while you grew up in Central, you spent the last four years prior to enlisting living in a small town called Brema."
Oh this is either going to be really good or really bad.
"Yes Sir, I did." Roy nodded.
"What's it like there?"
"Very small. Very... backwards minded when it comes to their daughter's futures. I'm glad I'm not there anymore and there's nothing in this world that could get me to move back there." Roy said honestly.
"My daughter ran off with a man ten years her senior back in... let's see, spring of 1886. Last update I managed to get of her was autumn of 1888, she and that man where living in Brema. Did you happen to meet them?"
Just your son-in-law, Sir.
"What is your daughter's name, Sir?" Roy asked.
"Vivian Grumman. Though since she married him it would be Hawkeye now."
"I never met a Vivian Hawkeye while living there."
Which was true. Vivian Hawkeye had died on February of 1892, long before Roy had entered the town in August of 1899.
"What a shame. I would love to know what happened to her. Do you know anything about her husband, Berthold?"
"Not a lot." Roy sighed.
"I feel like you're not telling me everything, Mustang. Why is that?"
"It's... not really my business to tell you..." He informed Grumman.
"I swear, whatever it is, won't hinder your career in anyway." Grumman said sincerely. "But I have a feeling that you are hiding something." He frowned.
Because I am. Your son-in-law was an abusive, misogynistic, bastard to your granddaughter- and possibly your daughter back when she was alive- he forced your granddaughter to marry me less then four months after she turned fourteen, he tattooed alchemic research on her BACK and tricked her in order to do so.
"How about we make things a little more interesting? If you tell me what it is your hiding, I'll sponsor you for the next State Alchemist exam."
Roy's eyes went wide at his statement.
"W-What?"
"I'm being completely serious here, Corporal Mustang. I've seen you preform basic alchemy. If you think you've got a skill that qualifies you to be a State Alchemist, I'll sponsor you. But if, and only if, you tell me what you are keeping to yourself." He explained.
"I. I- uh..." Roy stammered.
Grumman let out a snort of amusement.
"I'll give you until Monday at eight am to decide. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
Oh shit. I gotta talk to Riza.
"So how was work?" Riza asked, doing the dishes as Roy entered the kitchen.
"Interesting. How was the doctors?" He asked.
"They will tell me the results on Monday." She scoffed. "Now why are you acting like something is wrong?"
"I had a conversation with your grandpa today." Roy sighed.
"Oh. Does he know who I am?"
"No. He knows I lived in Brema for a few years. He doesn't know what happened to your mom. Last thing he heard was that she and your dad were living there, but that was in eighty-eight. He could tell I wasn't telling him everything I knew, but instead of forcing me to talk, he gave me a... proposition."
"Which was?"
"Tell him whatever it was I was keeping quiet about and he'd sponsor me for the State Alchemist exam in a few months."
"So tell him!" Riza cried, draining the sink as she began to dry off the plates.
"You told me he doesn't remind you of my Father, and at the very least he deserves to know that I exist and that my Mother passed away over a decade ago. So take my birth certificate, and our marriage certificate and show them to him. Hell, bring my parents' death certificates with you as well." She shrugged.
"You're okay with me essentially using your familial ties to my superior officer to my advantage to further my career?" Roy asked, jaw dropped in shock.
"Roy. There is a ninety percent chance that we are going to be parents in less than a year. Babies cost money. Whether you want to admit it or not, we could use the money that you being both a State Alchemist and a Major would put into the bank. So if you wanna use being a Lieutenant General's grandson-in-law to get your State Alchemist license- go for it." Riza said sternly.
"I just don't want people thinking every promotion I get is because I married Grumman's granddaughter!" Roy groaned.
"Then don't make it public knowledge. The entire military doesn't have to know. Keep it between you and him." Riza cried.
Roy sighed. Standing up from the kitchen table, he grabbed a spare rag and began to help Riza dry the dishes off.
"You know he's going to most likely want to meet you." He told her.
"I know. When does he want an answer from you?"
"By Monday morning."
"So tell him Monday. Just don't let anyone else besides him see the records, please." Riza cooed, kissing his cheek.
"I love you."
"I love you more."
"So besides your partially pointless doctors appointment, what did you do today?"
"I discovered a civilian self defense building."
"Really?"
"Mhm. Apparently they deem it necessary for members of a soldiers family to know some form of self defense. Martial arts, boxing, shooting. All seems very interesting, especially the shooting aspect."
"So you wanna learn how to shoot a gun?"
"Yep." Riza nodded.
"Go for it. It's a lot of fun, and pretty relaxing."
"As a married woman, I need my husband's permission in order to take any of the classes they offer." She informed him with an obviously fake smile on her face.
"Because of course you do." Roy scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"One day- one day- I will remember that most of this country views woman as property. I'll figure out how to let you enroll tomorrow." He said, kissing her cheek.
At eight am on Monday, Roy entered Grumman's office, saluting him with one had and holding a Manila envelope in the other.
"At ease, Mustang. What's that in your hand?" Grumman asked him.
"The answers to your questions." Roy informed him.
"Well hand it over then." Grumman laughed.
"Before I do, I want you to make a promise to me. One that's more important then you saying you'll sponsor me for the State Alchemist's exam."
"Oh really. What's that?"
"Everything in this folder, stays between us. No one else in the entire military can know."
"Hmm. Must be serious. Alright then, I swear." Grumman said, placing his right hand over his heart.
Without uttering another word, Roy handed him the file and sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk. Grumman opened it, letting the documents fall out on to his desk.
"So my daughter Vivian died February 19th, 1892?" He frowned, reading her death certificate.
"Yes Sir. I'm not sure what of though."
"And I... have a Granddaughter?" He asked, eyes wide with shock and happiness.
"Yes Sir."
"What's Elizabeth like? Do you know her?" Grumman asked, clearly having not seen their marriage certificate.
"She goes by Riza, absolutely hates being called Elizabeth. A bit shy, but very nice. I'm guessing she takes after her Mother, since she doesn't resemble her Father." Roy told him.
"You seem to know a lot about her." Grumman smirked.
"She's my wife, Sir."
Grumman's jaw dropped. No wonder Mustang wanted to keep what he had to say to himself. And why he wants to keep it between us.
"She is? She's living here, in East City?"
"Yes Sir. Over on the Maple housing base."
"How long have two been married?"
Roy groaned at his question.
"It's a... complicated situation."
"Tell me anyway."
And so he did. Roy told him how Berthold, who had been his Alchemy teacher, had decided Riza needed to get married at fourteen. How he, for whatever reason, agreed to let Roy marry her, despite knowing he was enlisting and hating the military. He let Grumman know that while he without a doubt love Riza more then anything or anyone, the main reason he agreed to marry her in the first place was so she wouldn't be married off to a complete stranger.
He did not, however, mention her tattoo or the possible baby on the way.
"When did you figure out she was my Granddaughter?"
"A little more then a month ago, after her Father died. We found documents in the attic. Her birth certificate, deed to the house, both of her parents birth certificates. Her Mother's birth certificate said her maiden name was Grumman. I didn't know your first name at the time, so I figured she was either your daughter or a niece."
"When did you find out my first name?"
"On the train from Brema to East City. Ran into an old army buddy of yours- a Harold Walton, he says hello by the way- mentioned your first name."
Grumman nodded, taking it all in.
"Tell my Granddaughter I wish to meet her." He begged.
"I'll tell her. But if she doesn't want to meet you, I won't force her to. I told her before we got married, that I would never force her to do anything she didn't want to do. That includes meeting members of her own family."
"I understand."
Riza was awoken at exactly nine am Monday morning by the phone ringing.
"That had better be the doctor..." she growled, stomping over to pick the phone up.
"Hello?"
"Is this Riza Mustang?"
"Yes this is she."
"I'm here with your test results. Congratulations Mrs. Mustang, you're pregnant!" The receptionist told her excitedly.
"Oh that's wonderful!" Riza gasped.
"Your next appointment with Dr Mason is scheduled for next Tuesday at ten am. We will see you then."
"Okay. Thank you." Riza said, hanging up.
Pregnant. She was pregnant. She was going to have a baby. Her and Roy were going to be parents. They wanted this. They wanted this so badly, more then anything in the world. And it was going to happen. Her test results confirmed it.
They no longer had to say if she was pregnant.
"Your Daddy is going to be so happy to hear this." She whispered softly, a smile on her face as she placed her hand on her still flat stomach.
And then she ran to the bathroom to throw up.
When Roy came home several hours later, he collapsed on the couch next to her.
"How was work?" She asked, closing her book and placing it on the coffee table next to her cup of tea.
"Good. Your Grandpa wants to meet you. I told him it was up to you." Roy informed her.
"How was your day?"
"I'm pregnant." She smiled.
"You are?" He gasped, sitting up.
Riza nodded, trying to fight back tears of joy. He kissed her on the lips, before laying his head down on her lap, his face to her belly.
"Hi there baby. It's Daddy. You have no idea how much me and your Mommy love you. We can't wait to finally meet you." He cooed, kissing her stomach.
I feel like I wrote Grumman kind of OOC. I apologize for that.