Author's Note
Sorry for the long wait! I had updated this on AO3 a while ago, but I completely forgot to post the new chapter.
And if you catch any stray typos, let me know! I've proofread this like five times, and I even installed Grammarly, but maybe typing on my phone 99% of the time makes it uhhhh worse?
Alphonse guides me outside as quickly as he can manage before running back inside. I feel useless standing by on the sidewalk. Part of me wants to urge people to run away and evacuate, but I don't want to cause any unnecessary panic. If the brothers needed me to do something... would they really have told me?
I do my best to ignore the rumbling under my feet and the sound of even more shattering glass.
I can't help but think about how easily both Elric brothers moved. There was no hesitation in either of them. If anything, they only seemed more apprehensive because I was there. Is this normal for them? Will my following them really cause a problem? Edward had seemed reluctant and Alphonse was originally entirely against the idea. He had said it was too dangerous.
It never really sunk in that Edward's part of the military. Even Alphonse, albeit in a completely unofficial capacity. What else have they seen? Had to deal with? At least, with Doctor Moore, I had the benefit of being able to stay in the comfort of a building with the relative certainty of not getting killed or attacked.
Three cars pull up haphazardly along the sidewalk in front of the gardens. Military police rush out in a hurry to get to the main entrance, somewhere behind me. One man stays behind and approaches me with easy, measured steps.
It's hard to tell what intimidates me about him. The several stripes on his shoulder tell me he's rather high up, if I remember ranks and insignia decently enough. His beard is also... a little menacing. It's thick and long and black and almost completely obscures his mouth.
But his eyes—I can't look away from his eyes. So deep and dark a brown as to look nearly black. He's not frowning, not really. But there's something in his expression that unsettled me. It takes a second to realize I'm being scrutinized.
I don't like it.
"And you are?," he asks, hands firmly clasped behind his back. He glances behind me, making sure all his men are inside, before settling his gaze back on me.
"Anna Belrith. The Elric brothers are inside," is what I offer in response.
The man's eyes narrow; alright, so he knows Edward and Alphonse. I'm not entirely convinced that's a good thing. I wring my hands nervously in front of me.
"You know the Fullmetal alchemist, then." It should be a question. It probably is. But it sounds flat, like a statement. I only nod in acknowledgement. The man grunts. "And why is a stray like you following them around?"
His question makes all the hairs stand up on my body; the indignation tastes like bile in the back of my throat. But before I can say anything, the garden doors burst open behind me. When I turn, I see two—three?—officers struggling to drag the thief forward.
"Let me go, you damn wolves!," they scream, doing their best to kick and thrash to get away. Their mask has been taken off.
And he's so young. He looks about like I'd imagine Alphonse would. His brown hair offsets his vibrant and disconcertingly green eyes.
There's a burn on his cheek. The skin's already beginning to blister. I run forward before the intimidating Colonel can stop me.
"Please stop for a second!," I call out to the two officers trying to restrain the boy. "I know how to treat their burn. At least let me do that!"
I don't actually have anything to treat burns. But I fall to my knees in front of the boy and officers anyway and make a show of looking through my small shoulder bag. There's a comfrey slave, some other dried herbs, and a small jar of aloe gel. That'll have to do. I also pull out a pen and one of the few pieces of scrap paper I shoved into the bag.
The officers yell at me to get away until they don't. I don't bother looking up until I've popped the lid off the aloe and hastily drawn a transmutation circle. When I do lift my head, the boy's been allowed to kneel down in front of me, and Alphonse looms menacingly behind both officers.
I can feel the imposing beard-man glaring dagger into my back like a physical thing. A shiver crawls up my spine.
"Just turn this way," I whisper to the boy, who obediently turns his head without a touch. I apply the gel as gently as I can, but I can see his jaw clench and unclench. He does well, though; not a peep out of him until I lift the piece of paper to his cheek.
That's when he grabs my wrist. The boy turns to look at me and his stare is unsettling. Maybe because it vaguely reminds me of the way Ed glared at me barely two or three days ago.
So much determination and rage in those green eyes. Barely a hint of uncertainty.
The officers pull roughly on the boy's arms.
"Hey, watch it, you brutes!" The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. Grit my teeth against an apology and exhale sharply through my nose. I look to the boy. Same piercing eyes. "What do I call you?," I ask carefully, lifting the paper to his cheek again. He probably wouldn't give me his real name if I asked, anyways.
"...Enton," is the short answer I get.
"Alright Enton. This is probably going to feel a little strange, and maybe sting a bit. But don't worry, okay? It'll help that burn go away faster."
The boy nods. I gently stick the paper to the gel, enough for it to stay still, and place my fingers on the outer rim of the circle.
The whole process takes roughly two or three seconds, during which I do my best using as much of the gel and paper in the transmutation as I feel is safe to. When the dim blue glow fades, I carefully peel the remaining paper off and gently rub in the rest of the aloe. The skin doesn't look as red and inflamed as before, and whatever blister was forming is barely noticeable. Overall, not too bad.
The officers haul the boy to his feet so roughly I'm fairly sure he doesn't even touch ground for a second.
"Oh my—would you wait for a second!," I call to them again, roughly giving everything back into my bag before standing. "Enton, do you already have a doctor you see? Some kind of a physician?"
The officers look at me both like I'm a wanted fugitive and have grown a third head. This is when Alphonse decides to step in.
"Anna, I really don't think—"
"Let her, Al," Edward pipes up, seeming to magically appear from behind his brother. Bite the inside of my cheek at the remark; it can't be helped that his younger brother is a hulking suit of armour almost anyone is dwarfed by.
There's something in the way Ed nods to me, though. Like he knows something. I don't know what it is, but it feels safer to play along. I turn my attention back to the boy. He seems confused for a second, before a similar looks of realization crosses his face I'm sure now crosses mine.
"No, I don't," he replies slowly, then rushes to add, "but neither does my sister canyougoseeher?" The words tumble out of his mouth so jumbled and fast I can barely understand them.
I pull another scrap of paper and my pen from my bag again. "Of course. Tell me where she is."
"Did he tell you?," I ask Edward, clutching the brown paper bag of honey and bandages close to my chest.
"Not really," he confesses, scratching the back of his head. "He kind of just blurted something about needing some flower to help someone, so I just figured..." He trails off, but I understand. Young like that, it would've been obvious Enton was trying to help someone close to him.
"I was standing next to some foxglove when I was spotted. Was that was Enton was after?"
Ed shakes his head. "I don't know, he didn't say, and I wasn't really in the mood for friendly conversation." Fair enough.
After asking a few passers-by, it becomes clear that Enton's sister, Claire, is staying in some kind of long term care facility. Edward and Alphonse don't catch it, but I've heard my parents talk about those often enough to know what it means.
Most people leave in urns or caskets.
On the way there, Ed and I do our best to compare notes on what Enton's told us. Claire is maybe ten and has always had a weak heart. They're orphaned, but their aunt and uncle are looking after them the best they can. They have ten cousins. It's a household of fourteen, everyone included. It's a cramped space. And there's a plant in that garden that could help Claire with whatever heart condition it is she has.
I have to rub my temples. This is already too complicated. Something in that garden could help... without knowing what Claire's condition is, there's no way for me to even guess if it actually is foxglove she needs. And if it is, how? Every single part of that plant is poisonous. Maybe there's something that could be extracted from it, but it's not like I have the means or installation to play around with that kind of thing.
When I cast a sidelong glance at the elder Elric, he's already staring at me. Now, he frowns.
"Think of something?," he asks quietly, like somehow it's upsetting that I may have thought of anything at all.
I shake my head a little. I hear Alphonse turn to me as we walk.
"Mmm, not really. I can't do anything until I find out exactly what Claire has. I can probably narrow down what plant Enton was after once I know that. But even then..."
I explain my dilemma to the brothers. It'd even be a pain just to cultivate the foxglove, nevermind figuring out which part of it I'm supposed to pick and use. Alphonse's hum resonates through his armour.
"Well," the younger brother starts, sounding significantly cheerier than I feel. "If its a lab you need, I'm sure whoever's in charge of West City's military branch won't mind if we borrow theirs, right?"
Ed and I both flinch at that.
"With the impression we left on that guy back there...," I trial off, and Edward carries on next to me, crossing his arms.
"I don't think the military would be willing to let us use their stuff for something like this either."
Alphonse slumps and does his best equivalent of deflating. I put a hand on his left arm and try my best at a reassuring smile.
"It'll be fine. Labs are nice, but my parents have been getting by for decades on a lot less. I'll figure something out." Brave words for someone who's barely sixteen. I hope my bravado will last.
The rest of the walk goes by in relative silence. I let myself fall behind the two brothers after a while. They talk quietly ahead of me. The architecture in West City isn't dramatically different from home, not in noticeable ways. It's in the colours used and the general structure of the homes and buildings. It's just different enough to feel foreign.
Homes and shops become connected buildings and warehouses after a bit, until eventually Alphonse points ahead of us.
The road ends abruptly where a long, gravel road winds all the way up to the long-term care facility. The entire place is surrounded by stone walls, a little taller than Alphonse's armour, and the only visible way in is through an ornate black iron gate. It smells of money. Can a family of fourteen really afford this?
Once we get closer, the guard booth is visible. You'd easily miss it from more than twenty feet away. The guard steps out from her concealed station in the pillar of the wall connected to the gate. My eyes go straight for the baton at her belt.
"Good morning!," she calls out. The happiness in her voice catches me off. Ed and Alphonse don't seem too bothered by it. "Visiting someone today?"
Edward takes a step forward and opens his mouth. He can barely get a word out before I pull on the back of his hood to stop him.
"Sorry," I apologize quickly and sheepishly when he turns to glare at me. "Truth is, I'm an apothecary and there's a girl here I was sent to come see."
The guard woman frowns at me and I can tell she's skeptical.
"You're a bit young to be off on your own for that, aren't you?"
slap a hand on Alphonse's arm. Hide the fact that it hurts a little more than I thought it would.
"That's why I have these two along! The other one's a state alchemist. This is kind of my first errand on my own."
When the woman turns to him, Edward does his best to very nonchalantly pull out his silver pocket watch. The guard makes a face, a strange mix of concerned and impressed.
"Well, alright then. Just head to the reception desk on the right when you go in. They'll be able to tell you where your patient is. Visiting hours aren't technically for another hour or two, but they should make an exception if they know I let you in."
The guard woman does her best impression of a salute to Edward and laughs as she goes back inside her pillar. The gate swings open inward with hardly a sound.
Once all three of us cross the threshold of the gate, it's like the thread that held us all upright snaps. I breathe a sigh of relief and Ed slumps forward. Even Alphonse tilts his head back in apparent relief.
And then Ed rounds on me. He looks furious.