Two weeks brought both changes and improvements that surprised everyone at the Inn. Winry and Alphonse had formed a sort of friendship and they played together often when Edward was resting or being cared for by Pinako. Winry and Ed also tried to be friendly with each other, but the girl found the older boy very abrasive and preferred Alphonse's docile manner to Edward's brash temper.

Roy and Riza stayed far longer than they thought they were going to, partly because it was tough to gain trust in the small farming community, and partly because neither wanted to leave until they were absolutely sure the boys would be alright. Even after Edward awoke, it was touch and go, though he only improved as the days went on. Still, they feared he could take a turn for the worse since there was only so much Pinako could do to keep infections at bay.

What they were able to gather, however, was that a resistance was brewing, though it was unorganized and quiet. The townspeople were of the mindset that they should be ready for a fight if need be, but they would prefer to live their lives quietly in the shadows of the mountains that formed the valley. Although all would say they believed in Amestris and wanted to be part of the nation, they were far enough away from Central that propaganda fell unconvincingly upon their ears. Still, they stowed away their children with gifts because there was no way of knowing when soldiers from Central would come and take them away, and that was part of the reason why it was so difficult for the two newcomers to gain the trust of those they encountered. No one knew who they were or where they came from, and they were all worried that they meant trouble.

Most importantly of all the changes, Edward's health began to look up. Although he was still disabled by his missing arm and leg, he took quickly to the wheelchair Pinako dug up from the basement. It was old and creaky, but it matched the old creaky floors and it enabled Edward to finally leave the confines of the bedroom after what felt like years. Alphonse would push him around like a dutiful little brother and the three children could go out back and play together.

Soon, it was time for Roy and Riza to begin the discussion of taking their leave. It was a conversation neither wanted to have. The town had grown on them and so had the children along with the sweet but strict old woman. Pinako never asked them for a single cent; she just requested they help out around the property and the two were more than eager to oblige. But, they couldn't live off her kindness much longer, especially after weeks of being away from Central. Being so far out, they only got so much information since news traveled slowly around the countryside. They needed to get closer to the capitol.

Winry watched with big sad eyes as Riza stuffed some clothes into her pack. Pinako had been kind enough to find some old garments that once belonged to her son and daughter-in-law. The plain pants and shirt that her son had worn when he was a teenager fit Riza perfectly and would be great for traveling and the white dress that she had been borrowing was a great disguise. She was grateful, although they did take up more room than she would have liked.

"Are you ever going to come back?" Winry asked in a sad, quiet voice. Riza glanced at her where she was standing on the other side of the bed. She hadn't heard the girl come in, but she was glad for the company. Packing was a lonely sort of business.

"I don't know, Winry. I hope so." Riza wasn't used to children and she certainly wasn't the kind of person to give false hope. She was honest, though Winry seemed a little disappointed by her honesty. She would have rathered a kind lie.

"I hope you come back too." The girl's voice was somehow quieter, but no less earnest. "You won't forget us?"

"Of course not." That, Riza felt, she could say for certain. "You and your grandmother have shown Roy and I a kindness we'll never forget. And, if we ever get the chance to, we'll be sure to come and visit."

As Riza picked up some wrapped dried meat and placed it in her pack, Winry came a little closer. "When you come back," she started, ignoring Riza's condition of 'if', "Will you teach me archery?"

Thoughtfully, Riza looked over at her again. She remembered that first night when the girl had studied the old family bow in the hall the same way Riza gazed at it for years above the fireplace. It was a longing the woman recognized, not just for the sport, but for the freedom. The arrival of the mage, the archer, and the two injured boys probably brought more excitement to the young girl than anything else that had ever happened in this town. And, Riza noted as she folded another of Winry's father's shirts, it probably took her mind off the death of her parents.

Archery had a way of clearing Riza's head like nothing she'd ever experienced before. It required total command of body and mind. One single toe pointing the wrong way, one thought out of line, and your shot would miss. It was her escape in the months after her own parents' passing. She'd always wanted to try it, always wanted to study it, but in those days she needed archery in the same way she needed air. It was life for her and necessary to give her the strength to keep moving on.

"No," Riza answered the girl's question curtly. Winry's face fell. The woman walked towards the window where her bow was propped up against the wall and took it, pausing for a moment to stare at the faded inscriptions on the old beautiful wood. She came back and laid the bow down on the bed so it rested right in front of the sad looking little girl.

"I'm going to teach you right now."

"Stand straight like this. Good. Point your toes towards that tree there. Okay, now press your hand flat against the bow here. Don't grip it, but let your fingers lightly touch the outside. Great."

Riza wrapped herself around Winry, marveling for a moment at how small the girl was. It made it easier for her to guide her arms up and over into the right position for shooting. Winry held a simple small bow. One hand was pressed flat against the grip, fingers curled so they lightly danced on the front, and the other was positioned so three fingers right below the nock pulled the string back. They had made a quick run into town and found a local woodworker who had a child's bow for sale. It was a simple bow, but perfect for a practical introduction to archery and it was light enough that Winry had no trouble pulling the string.

Riza gripped the outside of the bow and Winry's right elbow as she helped her lift the bow up and then pull the string back. It felt strange since Riza left left-handed and Winry shot with her right, but she figured it really wasn't much different. She helped position Winry so her form was straight and she was staring down the target.

"Good," Riza said. "Now set your head and set your mind. Bring the bow up like this and set your aim. Let your back muscles do most of the work here." She tapped just between Winry's shoulder blades. "This is where your tension is. This is where you're holding the arrow." Winry nodded, scarcely breathing. "Good." Riza took a small step back, trying not to disturb Winry's form and went behind her. She positioned her hand just inches away from where Winry's elbow was stuck out, her fingers pulling the bow's string. "When you're ready, release. Make sure your right arm goes back and your elbow hits my hand."

If Winry nodded, Riza missed it. The girl was so focused on getting this right that it didn't even look like she was breathing. She held her position for just a moment and then, in a split second, released. Her elbow went back against Riza's palm and the arrow whizzed through the air and into the tree stump. It was quite far off to the left, but that could be adjusted. What mattered was that she hit it.

Winry turned immediately and looked at Riza for approval. She wouldn't dare celebrate until her teacher told her if she did well or not. But, Riza broke into a smile and then Winry did as well and the girl jumped up and down excitedly.

"I did it!"

"You did!" The excitement was contagious and Riza wished she could spend her life introducing children to archery. It was one thing to teach soldiers how to shoot. They were there for a very serious reason. But, Winry seemed so excited by one little shot. Her first shot. She reminded the woman of her first practice session with her own bow. "Alright. Let's try again without me this time."

They stayed there for a few hours, Riza watching on as Winry kept practicing. Her shots slowly gathered closer towards the center of the trunk, though a few stray arrows went flying past the tree altogether and landed a few feet away.

Soon, the sun started to sink below the horizon and the pair went back to the old inn. Roy and Riza would leave that night, under the cover of darkness as they moved north-west towards the capital. Riza now found herself even more saddened to leave with Winry's excitement buzzing beside her. She would have liked to stay and teach the child more about archery, but there was work that had to be done first.

In the hours that Riza taught Winry archery, Roy hung out with the boys. Edward was having a particularly bad day, where his shoulder and thigh hurt quite a bit and getting out of bed was difficult. In the spare room that was illuminated by the bright sun, Alphonse sat at the end of Edward's bed and Roy sat on the one opposite them. He read a bit of the paper and talked a little with the kids. At some point, he pulled out a deck of cards and taught them how to play a few games. They were really nice kids, even if Edward was a little rude. If the mage focused on the playing cards, he could forget the horrors that the brothers went through and pretend everything was normal.

"You don't have to feel bad for me, you know," Edward said suddenly halfway through their game of poker. Roy considered whether or not it was appropriate to teach two kids a gambling game, but then he figured most card games could include gambling, and someone was sure to teach them at some point. At the comment, Roy glanced up, his brows furrowed.

"I'm not letting you win, kid," he said. "Just beginner's luck."

"Beginner's luck for ten straight games?" Edward smirked as he showed his hand. Another royal flush. Damn. Roy mumbled something under his breath as he scooped up the cards and began the shuffle them again. "But no, I know you just suck at poker," the older boy continued with a haughty shrug. "I mean this whole thing. I don't need your pity. I made my decisions and I have to live with it."

As he moved the cards in between themselves and began to deal them out once more, Roy looked at Edward's young face. The boy was maybe thirteen, probably a little older, though his height made him difficult to read, and yet he spoke words some adults couldn't bring themselves to admit. "You do, huh? Well, I guess we all have to live with our decisions one way or another."

"What decisions do you have to live with?" Alphonse asked curiously. When Roy paused for a long time, the boy for nervous and added, "Sorry, you probably don't want to talk about it."

"No, it's fine." The man offered him a weak smile. "I'm just thinking. I guess I have to live with joining the Royal Guard in the first place. Becoming a Court Mage. There's a lot of stuff that went on in the castle that I turned myself from. There was a war a few years back, before you were born, maybe a little after. It was terrible and I just went along with it. I was young and I wanted to prove myself, but youth doesn't automatically absolve us of our sins." He shot Edward a stern look. "As I'm sure you're aware."

The boy didn't take offense to this and he nodded solemnly. "When that witch brought me out to her cabin in the woods, I knew something felt wrong," Edward said in a rare quiet voice. "But I just kept going. Nothing seemed more important to me than bringing Mom back." He glanced at the space where his leg should be. "I was wrong."

Roy sucked in a hard breath. Here was a reminder that these boys weren't normal and would never be normal. It was like the sun had set and now everyone was forced to face their dark pasts. But, Roy refused. He had his demons and he knew he deserved no forgiveness, but these boys deserved absolution and the chance to move on.

"Well, anyway, you lose!" Roy cheered as he showed his hand-a straight. Edward looked surprised at that, as though he had forgotten they were playing cards in the first place. He then smiled and that smile brought all the air back into the room. The mood turned. All was well.

After dinner, Roy and Riza checked their packs and Pinako ensured they had all the food they would need to make it to a town just outside Central, where they were headed. It wasn't long before they all stood on the porch with the twilight sparkling above them.

"Do be careful," Pinako told them as she gazed past them and into the woods beyond the house. "I would like to see the two of you come back. Maybe pay me for your stay this time around." She then laughed, conveying the joke and the other two adults cracked a smile.

"Yes, ma'am," Roy replied in a charming voice. "We'll do our best. Take care of those two, and don't let that runt get away with too much."

"Who're you calling a runt?!" Edward shouted from the wheelchair he was sitting in. His shoulder and thigh were wrapped in clean bandages and he bounced with flashing rage at being called short. But, Roy wasn't intimidated. Rather, he laughed and winked at Alphonse.

"Keep an eye on your brother there," he told the younger boy.

"I will, sir!" Alphonse smiled, all sickness gone from his now healthy face.

Winry looked over with sadness, clutching the bow that Riza had given her. Riza placed a hand on the girl's blonde hair and gently ruffled it. "Be good to your grandmother," the woman said. "And be sure to keep practicing."

"I will," Winry mumbled, trying to keep her voice low so no one would hear the tears laced with her words. She pulled one hand from the bow and dug around in her pocket for a minute before presting Riza with a dark, thin rectangle. "Here, I want you to have this." Riza took it, feeling the plastic in her hand. It was dark and even with the light of the stars, she couldn't quite make out what it was. "It's my mother's," Winry explained before Riza could ask. "A hair clip she always wore. It'll keep your hair outta your face. You can borrow it while you're gone and bring it back when you're done."

Riza was touched and she found herself pulling the girl into a hug. "Thank you, Winry," she said kindly as she stored the hair clip in her own pocket to be used later. And, though she didn't make promises she wasn't absolutely sure she could keep, she found herself saying, "I'll bring it back when I'm done."

And then they were gone.

It was a warm and quiet night, aside from the rustle of the leaves under their feet. As they moved through the fields and then through the forest, the town grew smaller and smaller until it couldn't be seen at all. The pair spoke not a word as they hurried themselves along, trying to get as far as they could before daybreak.

"You miss them." Roy spoke as the sun was beginning to make its way back over the horizon. Both were exhausted from walking all night and were beginning to search for a place to hide for the day.

"Yes," Riza admitted with an expressionless look on her face. "But we have to keep moving."

"I didn't know you could teach archery."

Riza shrugged. "If I can shoot, I can teach."

"A kid?" Roy glanced back at her and Riza caught his eye. He looked confused at her decision to teach the girl how to handle the weapon. She held his gaze and then merely shrugged it off.

"She's old enough to have that power. Many kids learn younger. Besides, she showed an interest and I think that should be rewarded. It'll be a useful skill."

"You see yourself in her." Roy was wise, too wise for Riza's liking sometimes. They had been friends for a long time, in two lifetimes even. Once as children just learning their way around the world and once as soldiers. And now, here they were, embarking on a third lifetime as an exiled mage and the dumbass archer who followed him.

"Perhaps," was all Riza said, as quiet as she always was when talking about herself. Roy didn't have anything else to say and Riza studied the leaves on the trees they passed by as they grew ever more illuminated by the rising sun. "Shooting," she said suddenly, softly, with care in each syllable. "It clears the mind."

"What?" Roy asked, though he'd heard her clearly.

"It clears the mind. Archery. It helps you focus on one thing, just one specific thing. When you're shooting and you're in that position, arms raised up and bow pressed against your nose, nothing else matters. You're in control. That's all we ever want, right? Control. But, we really have very little control. Things change, people die, you grow older. But for that one moment in time in the space between your fingers and the tip of the arrow, you have control." Roy stopped and stared at her. Riza, who was right behind him, stopped when he did. "I gave her a gift. A way to clear her mind and get in control of her situation. She can't change that her parents are gone or that those boys showed up, but she can work on her shooting and place an arrow exactly where she wants to. It works. It worked for me."

Roy stared for another moment before he continued walking along the path. Riza felt foolish, having gushed all that out to the man only to have him act as though she'd said nothing. But then, Roy chuckled and said, "That's fucking beautiful, Riz'."

Riza smiled behind his back. "Thank you, sir."

It took a week to get to the next town, and another to get their first piece of information. The resistance was growing in those parts, but, like in Risembool, no one wanted to make the first move. They'd gathered after a few nights of visiting the local bar that Bradley was ruling with an iron fist. No one was certain where the old Court Mages were being held, but there had been a public execution of one accused of trying to overthrow the royal government.

"Gotta new rumor for ya's." The gruff barkeep, a large man with a long white beard, approached the bar with two more rounds of beer for Roy and Riza. There were no women in the lively bar, so Riza had figured out how to pin her hair up and wore men's clothes when she and Roy went to gather information at the local watering hole. It was comfortable to her and perhaps that confidence was what made her disguise so convincing.

"Oh?" Roy asked, passing a few silver coins over the beaten wooden table. "Let's hear it."

"Heard they're lookin' for a mage up north, in the cap-tal," said the man as he placed down the golden pitchers and snatched up the coins. "Fire mage, they called 'em. Been gone for two months or so and they still can't find 'em." Cold shock filled both Roy and Riza as they listened to the man speak. Roy had been the only fire mage in the entire kingdom, so they knew that Bradley was still searching for him.

"Oh?" was all the black haired man could manage to say.

"Yeah, it's drivin' 'em nuts knowin' they can't find that guy," the barkeep, a member of the resistance laughed with a deep boisterous tone that nearly shook the liquid in their pints. "Last I heard, he jumped off a cliff. So everyone's pretty sure he's dead, but they can't find the body."

"Well, the Royal Guard is pretty incompetent," Riza interjected, knowing that Roy was having a hard time talking about himself in this context. "So that old mage is probably dead."

"Yeah," the older man considered, though he didn't sound convinced. "But I dunno. Crazier things have happened, and I don't think they'd be killin' themselves tryin' to find this guy if they thought he was a goner."

Riza shrugged. "True, I suppose. We'll see." She sipped the last of her drink and held her hand up so the barkeep wouldn't bring her anymore. "We should head back to the inn." Roy looked over and nodded, slipped the barkeep another few coins for the intel, and they both slipped out of the bar and into the dark town street.

Once free of the bar's grip, Roy let out a long sigh. "Geeze, Riza. Thought I was going to get caught back there!"

"You would only have gotten caught for your nervousness," she said. "There are no descriptions of you, and everything seems to think you're dead. You need to have a cooler head, sir, otherwise we'll get ourselves outed."

Roy opened his mouth to protest but realized that she was absolutely correct. So, he made a sort of indifferent grunting noise and the two continued down the brick street towards the inn. They approached the old wood building and Roy opened the door for Riza, who stepped into the warmth of the inn lobby. A fire glowed in the fireplace opposite the door and a few people lingered around it, mostly patrons who had come from the same bar. A woman was over to the left at the reception counter and she beckoned the two over frantically. Roy and Riza shared a glance, but then quickly hurried over.

"I got some news," she said in a hushed whisper. "My little brother and his friends were playing in the North Woods and they found an old cabin there. Said it looked pretty ripped up, but smoke was rising from the chimney."

"Okay," Roy said slowly, not sure what this meant to them.

"There was a royal seal on the front door." Roy's eyes widened and the girl smirked, knowing she had finally gotten his full attention. "Yeah, and he said he felt some sort of magick in the area. Now, I don't know about the magick, but I've lived here my whole life and I've been all over those woods and never have I ever seen a cabin there." She shrugged. "Thought you'd be interested."

Roy smiled and reached into his pocket before slipping the girl a silver piece. "Thanks," he said. "That just might be something interesting." The girl smiled and slipped the coin into her own pocket. She gave them a small wave and the pair returned to their room.

The room at the small village in was very similar to the rooms in Pinako's house. There was a window, an end table, and two beds. Although the beds had been a welcome reprieve from sleeping outside, neither felt they were as comfortable or as welcoming as Pinako's.

Their packs were against the wall by the door and Roy immediately grabbed his upon entering the room. He flung it onto his bed and began to dig for his warmer cape. Riza stood with her back against the closed door and watched him.

"Are you sure this is something we should investigate?" she asked as he pulled the garment from his bag. He turned to her with a confused look on his face.

"What? Of course, we should! Did you hear what that girl said?"

"Yes, of course, sir, but it's just a kid that found a cabin in the woods," Riza reasoned. "And kids are very perceptive of magick. The energy they felt might not have even been coming from the cabin itself."

"And what if it is more? It can't hurt to check it out." Roy put on the cape and adjusted the hood. "Look, before we left, Ed brought up the whole thing with his mom again. He mentioned going to the witch's cabin in the woods to perform the spell. It was an offhand comment and I know that cabin could be anywhere, but there's one right here in these woods with magick around it. I think it's something we should look into."

Riza considered this for a moment and Roy stared at her expectantly. After a long pause, the woman shrugged and reached down to grab her bow. "What? I said I'll follow you. So, if you want to find this cabin, then lead the way."

As an FYI, I do archery myself so I identify so much with Riza in this context. It's really an amazing sport and I encourage everyone to give it a try if they are able to!

Thanks again for the continued support!