At first light, Riza was up along with Mei, who helped pack necessities into a small leather backpack. They sat on the front porch of the hut, their feet in the dew dipped grass as the cool air blew comfortably around them. As the sun rose and beat on their fronts, they grew warmer until they had to move fully onto the deck. There was not a cloud in the sky and Riza was thankful both for the pleasant weather and high visibility that would allow them to get relatively far on this first night on the road.

"It should be a good day to get started," Mei said cheerfully, noting the way Riza tilted her head to examine the sky. The woman nodded in agreement. "And you're feeling okay?" Although she was confident in her healing, she was concerned about Riza moving around so soon after a long fall. Roy was alright, thanks to Riza protecting him with her own body, though it took a day or so for him to be ready to move around. But, Riza had been bedridden for nearly a week and she still had stiffness and pains in her legs.

"Better," Riza replied after contemplating what she wanted to say. It was better, she felt, to hide the details so as to not worry the child. "I'll be alright, Mei. Thanks to you, I think we're both going to be just fine."

"Just be sure to take it easy," Mei warned. "You probably should be resting for another week at least!"

"I know." Her tone was diplomatic, but she felt uncomfortable having someone worry about her. She couldn't remember the last time someone was honestly concerned for her safety and wellbeing. Perhaps her mother was the last person, her father certainly never did. She and Roy were a great team when they worked for the King's Army, but they also weren't in too many dangerous situations. And, she had lived by herself.

"But," Riza continued after realizing her long pause indicated she was going to say more. "We have many things we need to do."

"Like what? What do you want to accomplish?" Mei asked. Riza found herself taken aback, but Mei was acting as kindly as she could. There was no judgment from the girl. Instead, she was just curious as to what her patients were hoping to find on their journey.

But, Riza wasn't entirely sure. The question took her by surprise. Sure, they needed to figure out what was going on in Central and they had to free the Mages, but that goal seemed so unrealistic and so far away. It would be so much easier to just cross to the next town and stay there either until this whole thing blew over or, at worst, for their entire lives. And, why bother trying to save the country? She'd pledged her allegiance to Roy. Then again, the Fire Mage was as determined as ever to rise to become the leader of the Kingdom, though now he would have to take a much less diplomatic route.

Mei was looking at her expectantly and Riza shifted her gaze to the sparkly green grass on the ground. "I don't know," she responded after the grass didn't give her an answer. "I suppose we want to reunite the country, though that sounds like too big a goal saying it out loud."

Mei just shrugged indifferently, a supportive smile on her lips. "Well, that's what goals are for. They're for big dreams that you don't know are going to work out or not, but that's also why you have smaller goals too. I'm sure you'll figure it out! You guys are strong and you make a good team."

Riza nodded, humming her appreciative response as she tucked another package of dried meat into the bag.

Roy woke up just before one of them went to get him, but just late enough that he missed out on packing up. Riza met his tired yawn with a disdainful frown, realizing that she'd been able to deal with her superior for eight-hour bursts, but literally living with him might be another thing altogether. Then again, these were weird times, and she hoped they would whip into shape before anything dramatic happened. Surely the Mage wouldn't be so lazy when it was his life on the line.

"Be safe," Mei smiled as she stood on the porch. Roy and Riza were ready to go and stood just down the trodden dirt path that led to the little house. They smiled widely back and nodded their heads, silently promising that they would at least do their best to not get themselves killed. It was the least they could do, after all, since she had saved them.

"Thank you so much for your kindness," Roy said pleasantly, a grateful smile resting on his lips. "We wouldn't be alive without you."

"I know!" Mei responded cheerfully without the slightest hint of humility. "I am a great healer, after all. But, I wish you guys luck! I hope everything turns out alright."

"Keep yourself safe too," Riza said earnestly, finding herself feeling very protective of the girl. Although she had saved their lives, and although they wouldn't be able to start this journey without her, Mei was still a child. She was entirely self-sufficient, but leaving her out in the wild like this felt wrong. "With Magery outlawed, there's no telling how long it will take guards to reach that small town near here."

"Don't worry, Miss Hawkeye, I have backup plans!"

"Alright," Riza replied, her tone showing a slight hint of skepticism. Then again, Mei could have said anything and Riza would still feel protectively worried for the girl. "And, as Roy said, thank you. If we find anything your Emperor might like, we'll be sure to get it back to you. And if we can ever repay you, please let us know."

"Just don't die," was all the girl requested before the gave one final wave and she retreated to her little house.

Alone in the wild, Riza turned to the Fire Mage. Before she could speak, she found herself struck by the fire in the man's eyes. His lips betrayed no telling of what he was feeling on the inside, but his eyes said everything. He looked confident, excited, and determined. And, because he simply looked to be all of those things, Riza was too. Of all the people to go on this journey with, Roy was her first pick, even if he did sleep in too much.

"Alright, sir," She said, adjusting the bow on her back and checking her quiver to be sure all the arrows were there. "Let's go."

Riza lost herself in the cover of the forest. It was a beautiful day for traveling through the woods, as the misty morning had broken away to a bright warm day. Hidden under the cover of the trees and following paths that only led them through the shade, it was cool enough to make walking long distances comfortable, and both were grateful that it wasn't too hot nor too cold and they could begin their journey on the right foot. Of course, it wouldn't always be this way, they were sure, so they relished the calmness while they had it.

They didn't talk much, but a comfortable silence fell over them. It was much like being back in Roy's office when they would have to do paperwork late together. There was nothing really to talk about, so rather than force an awkward conversation they just did what they needed to do. In this case, they had said all they needed to about where they were going and why, and rehashing the details of their self-exile distressed the both of them. Still, Riza wondered what was going through the Mage's mind as he led the way down the barely noticeable path. He was not one to adapt to change quickly, but in just a week he had realized, accepted, and begun a new journey. And, at the same time he had to deal with the outlawing of his very being, he also had discovered Riza's secret. It was a lot to take in.

But, their relationship, though friendly, was not that where they could confide their deepest feelings. Riza was his bodyguard and he was her superior, even if it wasn't officially true anymore. She still felt a duty to him and, after all that had changed, she didn't feel the need to upend this facet of their lives too.

They stopped for a quick lunch and break when the sun was high enough in the sky to not shine through the trees into their eyes. Since they were heading East, they battled the brightness all morning and, although it made the day much warmer, Riza almost wished it had remained a little cloudy. Thankfully, the trees gave cover, and the sun quickly climbed.

They sat on the ground in the middle of the pathway, chewing on the dried beef that Mei had packed in their lunches. Though they didn't speak as they ate, both were contemplating how dry the meat tasted compared to what would usually have been their midday meal back in Central. While they did not dine like the King did, the small cafeteria offered decent cuisine. For Roy, it was a nice light meal to have. For Riza, it was the only meal she got in a day. And now, here they were on equal footing, eating the same dried beef for lunch as they would for dinner, and then for breakfast the next day, and so on until they reached Risembool.

"Are you ready?" Roy asked, breaking the still silence as he repacked the bag. It seemed like such a sin to ruin such peaceful silence and Riza even jumped at the suddenness of another person's voice. But, she quickly collected herself and nodded.

"Yes sir," she responded, her voice dry on her lips. She gathered the other pack and stood, waiting for the Mage to begin walking. Roy studied her for a brief moment, ensuring to himself that she was, indeed, ready to go, and then turned on his heels to continue down the path.

Again, silence ensued, leaving the both of them to their own thoughts. If they hadn't been afforded enough time to consider their new life, they certainly could think about it now. Birds chirped and animals rustled in the bushes, but aside from that, no other sound escaped the still forest.

But, both had their demons, though Riza was less inclined to speak about it. Roy, on the other hand, found himself growing more and more disdainful of the quietness. While he often relished the chance to engulf himself in blissful silence in his old life, he now found himself lost in his thoughts, which were rather dark. He was exiled. He was outlawed. If a member of the King's Army saw him, he'd been shot at on sight. This might never end and he might never be able to go home. He liked his home. It was small, but he was a single guy and he missed sleeping in his own bed. He wondered what Hughes was doing. Hughes nor his wife had a Gift, but he was sure the man was worried over his newborn. If this didn't end would children born with a Gift be taken away? Or, he shuddered to think, put to death?

"Riza," His voice called out through the forest, again breaking their silence. The woman again was startled, having been lost in thoughts of her own.

"Yes, sir?" she asked with concern. Roy drank in her voice. It was like a cooling rain on a hot day or water in the desert. But, he realized, he hadn't thought of anything else to say. He'd called her name for the response and now that he'd gotten it, he wasn't sure what else to say.

"Um," he started weakly, obviously fumbling for something to say. "What was it like, pretending to be a man?" It was the first thing that popped into his mind, though he felt his face heat up in embarrassment. What a stupid thing to ask, he chided himself.

Riza pushed her brows together, though Roy never turned to face her so he didn't see the look of utter confusion on her face. "I'm sorry, sir, what did you say?" she asked, though she knew what he'd asked and just wanted to confirm he seriously wanted an answer.

"Uh… What was it like pretending to be a man?" For all the things Roy was, he was not one to lie or back down from a question. And, unfortunately for him, that included times the questions were silly.

Riza paused, and for a moment Roy thought she was ignoring him out of spite. But, stubborn as he was, he refused to turn to her. If he had, he would have seen she was considering the question, as it was something she had never really thought about before. She'd lived every day waking up a woman and coming home a man. It became who she was, as though she fused together these two separate but still so similar genders into herself. She found herself not contemplating the question itself, but the absurdity of keeping men and women separate in their society. It seemed so ridiculous considering she could do anything a man could, sometimes better, and yet if anyone had known about her true identity, she would have been kicked out and likely court-martialed.

"I don't know," Riza finally decided to answer after sitting on his question for longer than was fair. It was the truth, she didn't know how she felt about the matter. It was just something that happened, something that became part of her daily life. No more, no less.

Roy, however, wasn't satisfied. While he had been cautious to ask such a question, with that answer he was determined to get a real response. "What do you mean you don't know?" he asked incredulously, fighting the urge to turn around and look at her. "It's something you did every single day for years and you don't know how you feel about it? I mean, you had to live life as a man, isn't that different from being a woman?"

The archer was agitated by his incessant questioning but was far too professional to yell at him. Though, she figured, if he continued, she'd have no choice but to tell him off. Still, his questions confused her and she found herself thinking more deeply about her feelings than she wanted to.

"I don't know!" She replied indigently, her voice rising slightly with irritation. "My life isn't divided up into being a woman and being a man. I suppose if I had to find a divider, it would be between when my parents were alive and after they died. That's it. I became who I am after that, not sooner and not later."

This gave Roy pause. While very apparent to Riza, who had lived through the situation, he'd never considered the impact her parent's death had on her. Reflecting on it now, it made perfect sense that she became a different person after they died.

"You changed after they died?" he asked.

"Of course." Her tone dropped and Riza had to stop herself for a moment. Thinking about her parents brought on thoughts she didn't like to explore. "I had to fend for myself. I was alone with no other family around. I had to grow up immediately. That's why I joined the King's Army. I'd wanted to as a kid, of course, but really just did it out of necessity."

There was another long silence, broken only by the crunching of leaves under their feet. That was the only sound they could hear. Although the birds chirped and animals ran around in the brush beyond, they could only focus their hearing on the crinkle of the foliage.

"Do you miss them?" Roy asked.

"Who?"

"Your parents."

"Oh." Riza contemplated this for a moment, finding herself shrugging even though he couldn't see her. She felt a lot of things about her parents. Missing them was there, but it was low on the list. Mostly, though, she felt angry. But, she didn't feel she could actually say that out loud. How ridiculous would that be? After all, it does no good to be angry at a dead person.

"Yeah," she finally said noncommittally and Roy knew instantly by the tone in her voice that she wasn't fully sure of that answer, but he didn't press her about it.

"Your dad was a good guy," he said awkwardly. "What happened to him was a shame." He didn't know what else to say. Master Hawkeye was a stoic, cold man who didn't show love. If he felt love for anyone or anything, it certainly wasn't apparent. The only thing anyone could tell her loved was fire magery, as he'd thrown himself into his work and research for his entire life. Riza just hummed at Roy's words about her father. She didn't truly have an opinion one way or another about his character and didn't care to discuss it then.

"What about you?" she asked. "And your family?"

Roy just shrugged. "I never knew my parents. I can't really miss someone I didn't know."

"Fair enough."

They fell back into silence since neither had anything else to say. Riza wrestled with the feelings Roy brought up in their little chat but decided in the end that she was glad for the talk. It didn't soothe her opinions of what happened in her life, but it broke up the monotony of walking through this forest, so she was happy enough. Roy felt similarly, though he did have a twinge of guilt for bringing dark memories of the past.

Riza didn't mind, though. She figured it was good to think about these things every now and then. She'd been so wrapped up in her work before all of this happened that she'd never really stopped to consider her feelings on the situation. But, as she watched Roy's thick black hair bob up and down as he walked, she knew that no matter the situation, no matter where they were, she wanted to protect him. He was, after all, her friend, but also her father's prized student and the keeper of the secrets of very dark magick. Their destinies were intertwined in a way that even Riza herself didn't quite understand, but she was content with her ignorance for now.

The sun was behind them now as the afternoon light wore into a subtle evening glow. They could still see perfectly fine but agreed they would want to find a place to camp for the night before the light slipped completely away. Riza wondered how it would feel sleeping outside like they would have to for many nights to come. She'd never slept anywhere but in her own bed in her family's home, so this would be quite the experience.

Soon, they found a clearing and settled there. As they ate their dried food in comfortable silence, the last light of day ebbed into the first glow of the moon. They had the perfect chance to see the round, beautiful moon that lit the forest with an eerie hue.

"Riza, look," Roy said, his head tilted back and his mouth agape. He looked positively stupid like that, which Riza found amusing and even a little endearing. So she too threw her head back and gazed up at the sky through the clearing in the trees.

Stars. So many stars filled the night sky that Riza thought she was looking at a painting. It was beautiful, unlike anything she'd ever seen before. And, it wasn't just the white glow on the black sky that had her in awe, it was the multitude of colors that blossomed across the heavens. Ringlets of reds and greens sprawled across the sky followed closely by the deepest purples and blues she had ever seen. Drowned out by the light of Central, Riza had never seen the sky like this before. But, in the solitude of the forest, where no one else lived and no light was there to overpower, she could gaze at the night sky in all its glory.

And, Riza felt so small. It was amazing how many beautiful stars she could see, but she found herself thinking about all that must be out there. Here she was exploring the lands of her own world that she'd never seen before, but she would never get to explore the stars that she gazed upon now. And she wondered how many countless others were also gazing up at the sky, feeling as small as could be compared to the infinite power of the universe that lay beyond.

"Beautiful, huh?" When Riza came back to Earth, Roy she found the Fire Mage looking at her a little smugly. He was thrilled to have pointed out something that could captivate her as much as the night sky did. All Riza could do was nod and steal one more glance at the heavens before returning to the man before her.

They made a camp and Riza took the first watch. Roy snored away and Riza continued to look up, positioning herself against a tree so she wouldn't hurt her neck.

Yes, she wondered about the worlds beyond her planet. But, looking over at the sleeping Mage she was glad she was here, on Earth. Home.

They continued on for a few days as they walked the long forest to Risembool. They never saw another person on their journey, though they did see animals filtering in and out through the trees. Usually, they stayed far away from them, though a few daring squirrels came out of their hiding places in the bushes to investigate the intruders.

The weather mostly held up, though it rained the evening of the second night. This made Roy angry because he couldn't do much in the rain. His Flame Magick would only go so far before being put out by the water. At the same time, Riza also ended up aggravated by the weather because that meant there would be no fire for the night.

It was the late afternoon of the fourth day and the two companions were tired and short. They had argued that morning about whether the jerky Mei packed was chicken or beef and then fell into a simmering silence for the rest of the day. It was cloudy outside and cool, and the clouds threatened to open up any moment, which would only worsen their mood.

"I think we should stop here for camp, sir," Riza said, the first words she'd spoken to him since morning. He paused and turned to her before evaluating the potential campsite.

"No, I want to keep going," he replied dismissively.

"If we keep going we could get caught in rain," Riza reasoned. "And then it will be harder to find a proper campsite.

Roy contemplated this for a moment. He knew Riza was right. There wasn't much daylight left anyway, especially with the cloud cover. But, a small, temperamental part of him wanted to keep going out of spite. He was just about to insist again that they keep going when they heard a loud rustling in the bushes to their left. Their attention captured, they forgot their disagreement and turned to where the sound was coming from.

Realizing that this was not an animal they had met before, Riza placed a hand on her crudely mended bow and readied it in case it would be needed. Roy seemed a little taken aback by her quick move to action, but he followed suit and placed himself in the mindset to use his magick if need be.

The rustling continued and then, they heard the smallest whisper of a voice. "Hello?" it called. Roy lifted his head in surprise and Riza's eyebrows furrowed, though she did not release her position. It sounded like a young boy who was scared out of his mind.

"Who's there?" Riza asked, finding her voice before Roy did and taking on a deep, confident tone meant to intimidate whoever was there. It worked because there was a long pause before another response came and she thought for a moment she'd scared whoever it was away.

"Please help."

The two adults exchanged a glance. "Help with what?" Roy ventured, taking a step closer. Riza wished he would stay in one place in case this was a trap, but then she figured she was being a little paranoid.

The rustling stopped for a moment before beginning again, this time coming closer. They heard footsteps and they could tell it was absolutely a person, likely a child walking towards them. "Promise you won't hurt me?" asked the boy's voice.

"Promise," Roy said, his softer side getting the better of him as Riza shot him a look. No, she figured, they couldn't really promise that. Who knew what was coming out of the woods at them!

It turned out to indeed be a little boy. He looked young, maybe a little older than ten, but certainly not yet a teenager. His face was scratched and he looked pale and scared. Short blonde hair was mixed with mood and what the adults feared was some blood as well. His golden eyes were wide as he stared back at Roy and Riza who looked as shocked to see him as he was to see them. He hadn't expected to find anyone else out in these woods.

"Who are you?" Riza asked. She had no idea what to say to this… thing. Her bow was still leveled at him unconsciously and by the time she realized she was literally pointing her weapon at a child, she had already scared him more. He stood frozen in his place, looking up at them as though they were actually about to kill him there in cold blood.

"My name is Alphonse." He said, stuttering with fright. "Please, help my brother."

Riza was about to ask what he meant, but before she could even open her mouth, Alphonse turned and revealed a shorter boy on his back. And worse, he was absolutely covered in blood.

Roy gasped, Riza dropped her bow altogether. She lurched forward instinctively, her heart in her throat, and unwrapped the red cloth that covered what the young boy was carrying. The blood went from his golden hair to his bare toes. His clothes were ripped and ragged and his breathing was erratic as he fought to stay alive. Riza gazed over him and found, to her horror, that he was missing both an arm and a leg and both stubs were bleeding profusely.

"Please help him," Alphonse, said again, his voice shaking and sounding desperate.

"Of course," Roy replied quickly as Riza gently lifted the child off of his back and knelt down on the grassy forest floor. At this point, she didn't care where the boys came from, one was hurt and they had to help. Riza grabbed one of the bags and pulled out all the medical supplies Mei had packed, which was a considerable about given that she was a healing Mage, after all, but still not nearly enough.

And then, as though the heavens were laughing at the poor unfortunate souls, there was a crack of thunder and the sky opened up, showering them all with buckets of freezing rain.

Here's the next chapter early because I've been a little consumed by this whole series. I LOVE writing it! Anyway, I wrestled with whether or not to have Alphonse appear in his suit of armor or as a boy, and I chose this because I think it works best with future plot points! As always, thanks for reading!