"I don't think this is such a good idea," Al muttered. Dismissive of his brother's concerns Edward bumped his shoulder against Alphonse's.

"What's the harm? Don't worry so much!" Ed responded.

"I think you're forgetting your fight with Lan Fan," Al said drily.

"She's not going to blow up her little brother!"

Ling, Edward, and Alphonse leaned against the far wall of the training hall as the Zhang siblings prepared for the fight. The room was spacious enough that their conversation didn't carry. Across the room Xiang was busy wrapping his wrists with sarashi. Meanwhile, Lan Fan removed her armor along with the impressive arsenal of explosives she kept on her. The spectators looked over at the door when it opened. In stepped Qiyin wearing his mask this time. He stood at attention by the door until the emperor beckoned him over.

"Ah! You're just in time for the show," Ling tucked his hands in his sleeves. The bodyguard bowed before joining them along the wall. "Lady Xue wasn't too put out, I hope?"

"No, your highness. The dowager empress sends her regards to the young lord," replied Qiyin. "Show?"

"Xiang Zhang wishes to join the guard. A demonstration is in order wouldn't you say?" The emperor quirked an eyebrow at his bodyguard.

"Indeed," the guard answered.

"So what do you think?" Ed said under his breath to Ling. The emperor hummed in thought glancing at Qiyin sidelong.

"If you were a betting man, Guardsman?" Ling inquired.

"Ten to one in favor of the commander. Three to one the young lord lands the first strike," Qiyin replied. The three of them looked at him in surprise. The guard smirked and folded his arms. "I'm a betting man."

"Ten to one, huh?" Ed mused. He grinned with a wicked gleam in his eye. "Five thousand cenz says Xiang takes the cake."

"I'll take that wager," Qiyin agreed.


Lan Fan eyed her little brother as she unfastened the bracer from her right arm. He removed his shirt to wrap his abdomen. Xiang was still lean but beginning to put on muscle. Before long he'd be taller than his big sister. Not so little anymore. The display of insolence he'd shown in front of the emperor was inexcusable. She was well aware of Xiang's desire to become a member of the royal guard, but she'd thought she could put this off a few years more. Xiang was a naive child who wanted to play hero. The fact he was two years older than Lan Fan when she bound herself to Prince Ling was of no consequence.

The only way Xiang would become a bodyguard was over her dead body. She'd taught her brother to fight in order to defend himself not to follow in her footsteps. Though Edward's encouragement wasn't helping matters, Lan Fan blamed herself for the current state of affairs. Perhaps, if she hadn't indulged his curiosity about her adventures in Amestris, they wouldn't be in this situation.

What am I going to do?

Xiang wanted to be taken seriously. Lan Fan wondered if he realized she always pulled her punches. If she thoroughly defeated Xiang he'd be humiliated. That was the last thing she wanted to do, but she also knew this had to be a lesson. Lan Fan could draw a blade across an assassin's throat without hesitation. Her brother was bright and kind and smiled so easily. Xiang's hands were unstained by blood. She wanted them to stay that way.

Glancing toward their audience Lan Fan saw the emperor watching her. When he caught her eye his lighted up and a smile flickered across his face. The sort of smile Ling always wore when the two of them shared a secret. A blush rose to her cheeks and she ducked her head, cursing herself for becoming so easily flustered. Turning her back to him she unwound the spiked leather strap from her automail hand.


Ling kept his attention on the siblings as they converged in the middle of the room. Both dressed in black and barefoot. They were an inkblot smudged before it could dry properly. This was the first he'd heard of her brother's ambition. He wondered why Lan Fan hadn't mentioned it before. Of course, it wasn't as if he'd asked after her little brother with anything more than polite interest. They bowed to him then each other in a mirror image Ling found fascinating. He was curious to see how this match turned out. Xiang had something to prove, but Lan Fan had years of experience on him.

Xiang broke his stance first and she allowed him to take the offense. There was a lightness to her steps as she pivoted away from his strike. Ling always admired her agility, but this was something else entirely. Lan Fan moved like an ink brush over parchment. Bold, deliberate, and beautiful. The boy was skilled and fast but he wasn't focused. Xiang made the mistake of glancing at his audience. Lan Fan landed a back fist strike across his face that sent him careening.

"Eyes on me," she instructed. "Don't look at them." Xiang straightened and nodded. Intensity ignited in his eyes. When he attacked once more it was with determination. Lan Fan deflected most of his blows until he feinted a punch, following up with a kick to her ribs. His triumph was short lived as Lan Fan grabbed his leg, sweeping the other out from under him. "Is this you proving your skills?" Lan Fan said, derisively, as he hit the mat.

She's baiting him, Ling realized, amused by how much she reminded him of Master Fu. Imagining Lan Fan with two little apprentices of her own kindled a warmth in his chest. Children chasing each other through the tall grass. Playing games when they're meant to be practicing or studying their lessons. Managing all manner of mischief when her back was turned. Driven by his older sister's taunt Xiang got back on his feet. Ling decided to entertain such thoughts another time.

"Show her what for, Xiang!" Ed cheered on.

Xiang fell back several steps to assess his opponent. His eyes were sharp. Ling could practically see the gears turning in the boy's head. One moment he was utterly still and the next he was a blur of movement. He drove Lan Fan back across the training floor. Ling saw what Xiang had already discovered for himself. Each time he struck on her left Lan Fan evaded. If he moved fast enough he could land a solid hit. Closing the distance between them Xiang jumped, spinning in the air, and kicked her in the face. Ling heard Alphonse suck in a sharp breath as the blow connected.

Blood pattered to the mat like rain drops.


I didn't mean to kick her that hard.

Xiang stared aghast at his sister's face. Her nose was at the wrong angle. Blood was everywhere, pouring down her mouth and chin, soaking into her shirtfront. Lan Fan wiped her sleeve beneath her nose and sniffled. Breathing through her mouth she leveled her gaze at him. Pink stained teeth flashed at him, more grimace than smile.

"Are you finished?" asked Lan Fan. Xiang hesitated. He backed off several steps, shooting a look at Ling. The emperor's face was impassive. Xiang couldn't read him. Alphonse stepped forward to intervene, but Ed dropped a hand on his shoulder to stop him. In the corner of his eye he saw movement. Xiang narrowly avoided the automail fist aimed at his head. Adrenaline burned in his veins. He knew she was holding back, but he hadn't known how much. It was all he could do to dodge her attacks.

Xiang tumbled out of the way of her kick. He couldn't lose. Not when it mattered this much. But Lan Fan wasn't giving him time to strategize. If he couldn't beat her then it would somehow have to be a draw. Next time she struck he didn't draw back. Xiang shifted enough to keep from getting clocked in the face. He grabbed Lan Fan's arm at the elbow, left foot breaking her balance, and swept her to the floor.

What he didn't count on was Lan Fan using his momentum to flip him to the ground. His teeth lacerated his tongue on impact. Blood flooded his mouth, trickling down the back of his throat. Xiang rolled to his front and forced it back up with a cough. Before Xiang could push to his feet he was grabbed by the hair. Lan Fan wrapped her metal arm around his neck and yanked him to his knees.

"That's enough!" Alphonse shouted from the sidelines.

"This is the part where you concede," Lan Fan informed him.

"No," he wheezed. "I'm not finished!" Xiang got his feet up under him. Summoning all his strength he threw himself backward.


Lan Fan landed on her back with the wind knocked out of her. Blood drained down the back of her throat from her sinuses choking her. Xiang's weight on her diaphragm wasn't helping matters either. Between keeping her hold on her brother and drawing breath she chose the latter. Xiang was off her the second she slackened her arm. The sound of solitary applause reached her ears. The emperor had apparently decided the show was over.

"Impressive to say the least," Ling said delicately.

Sitting up Lan Fan cupped her hands around her nose. The swelling and displaced fracture made breathing through it impossible. Lan Fan snapped her nose back in place. Even Qiyin winced at the sickening crack.

"I believe we've talked about you setting your own setting your own breaks, Lan Fan. Specifically that you shouldn't," Ling scolded. The pain was nothing compared to her anger. Lan Fan held her tongue lest she say something scathing. If it'd been anyone else she would've blocked that kick with her automail. This was exactly why she couldn't take Xiang on as an apprentice even if she wanted to. Lan Fan would go easy on him, because she couldn't face her mother if she didn't. Xiang's training would suffer for it. That sort of thing could get him killed.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Xiang was an anxious presence at her side. Al rushed over with a handkerchief drawn from his waistcoat. Having once performed her own field amputation Lan Fan thought all this fuss over a broken nose was more than a little absurd. Lan Fan took the handkerchief from Al to keep him from cleaning her face. She pressed the white cloth beneath her nose. Someone had stitched peony blossoms in the corners. A favor from Princess Mei? Somehow she always seemed to acquire other other people's handkerchiefs and inevitably ruined them with blood. It reminded her of the one the dowager empress had made her years ago. The same one Lan Fan wrapped around Shu's wounded hand the day they met.

Don't start thinking about him.

"Can I see?" asked Alphonse.

"It's fine," she muttered. The swelling made her sound as if she had a head cold. Now that her septum was more or less back in the right place the pain was tolerable.

"Lan Fan," Ling said her name like a warning.

"I know how to splint a nose," Lan Fan insisted. She knew she shouldn't be arguing with Ling in front of anyone, but she was annoyed with him.

"But what if it heals crooked?" Xiang asked. It was so much like something their mother would say. Even though it hurt she couldn't help but laugh a little. Sighing in surrender she lowered the handkerchief now stained by the vibrant red of fresh blood. Al was gentle as he examined her nose.

"I think it might be better if Mei heals this for you. Healing cartilage properly takes finesse. Besides that wearing your mask is going to hurt if you don't," Al said.

"Seriously, if there's someone around who can fix you up let 'em. Take it from someone who has done more than enough patch jobs on himself," Ed chimed in. Qiyin was the only one with enough good sense not to harass her.

"I will see Princess Mei," she sighed.

If only so I may hear the end of it.

Lan Fan allowed Alphonse to give her a hand up. She looked down at Xiang. There was blood smeared on his lower lip. Xiang's face was painted with remorse. He wouldn't even look at her.

"Hold your head up, Xiang," Lan Fan commanded. Putting on a brave face he lifted his head. Everyone in the room was utterly silent. Lan Fan held out her hand to him. "You should be proud."

"Huh?" He stared at her openly surprised.

"You were strategic in your attacks. You exploited the opening in your opponent's defense. Your attacks are well executed, but you telegraph your moves before you make them." Lan Fan closed her hand around his wrist, and hauled him to his feet. "Since when did you get so good at jump kicks?"

"I've been practicing," Xiang answered.

"It shows," Lan Fan said.

"You're pretty good kid," Ed grinned at him.

"Does this mean...?"

"Keep practicing," Ling intervened. "I'm sure one day you'll make a fine member of my royal detail."

Xiang's eyes lighted up. That brilliant smile of his spread across his face. Meanwhile dread settled into the pit of Lan Fan's stomach.