A/N: Day 2! This one is centered around how different perspectives can totally change the situation. Poor Roy. Enjoy!
Madame Christmas had been enjoying a rare, quiet evening in her bar when the door burst open. Her nephew stumbled in, breathless. Roy's wide eyes searched the room to make sure no one was there.
"Roy boy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Chris asked. Roy was too busy shutting and locking the door behind him. He closed the curtains and exhaled shakily.
Chris repeated her question, leaning against the bar and frowning. Roy shook his head, his face drawn and pale. The broad woman huffed, trying not to let her concern show. "Roy!"
The young officer jolted to attention. "G-g-ghost."
Madame Christmas extinguished her cigarette in an ashtray and pulled out a bottle of hard liquor and a set of glasses. One of the girls, Vanessa, poked her head out of the side room curiously.
"Roy, dear, you aren't making any sense. What about a ghost?" Chris pressed, sliding a glass towards the shaken male.
"I was at the g-graveyard, er, visiting. And I s-saw a…..a ghost."
Vanessa eased out to the main room, gasping appropriately and running her fingers through Roy's hair soothingly. Two of the other girls joined her, their interest piqued. Madame Christmas remained unimpressed.
"A ghost? And what kind of ghost exactly?"
Roy started gesturing wildly. "It was the Lady in White." The girls collectively gasped. Christmas rolled her eyes, pouring another glass for the both of them. "Oh please, Roy Boy, no that again."
The dark eyed alchemist hit the table with his hand. "She's real, I swear. I was visiting Hu- I was in the cemetery and she was there. I didn't see her at first, but the temperature. It was suddenly cold. I couldn't even light a flame with my lighter. And she was in front of me, on the other side of the cemetery. She was in this long, white dress. She was glowing, like the most beautiful and frightening thing I've ever seen. I could see her floating between the gravestones, like she was searching for someone. I think she was looking for her dead lover. Just like the stories. She would stop at one, gazing at it, and then move on. At first, I thought it was a person, but then-" Roy shivered, his fingers trembling. "I heard her voice. Like the crying of an animal. It was this long, high pitched howl. It was so terrifying. I must've yelled, because she turned to me. She started moving towards me and I ran. I just kept running and prayed she wouldn't find me. I-I've never been more scared in my life…"
Vanessa and the girls tutted affectionately, ruffling his hair and consoling him. Madame Christmas looked underwhelmed by his story. Still, she waved a finger towards the staircase. "Well, go get settled down. I don't imagine you're planning on leaving anytime soon. I'll have you know I'll be charging you full price for the room. Tall tales won't get you any discounts – family or not."
Roy left the empty glass and was guided upstairs by his adopted sisters, re-enacting the spirit's movements and telling the history of the Lady in White. Madame Christmas chuckled to herself, cleaning out the glasses. She was just putting them up when a curt knock came from the door. Chris jumped despite herself. Swearing quietly to herself, she unlocked the door and opened it, nearly shouting in alarm. At the door, dressed in a long white skirt and jacket, was a very spectre-like Riza Hawkeye. Her blonde hair hung loose over shoulders and her skin looked almost alabaster in the evening moon's light.
"Well I'll be damned, Riza. What're you doing here at this hour?"
The young soldier looked mildly perturbed. "Is the Colonel here, by any chance?" she asked stoically. Chris laughed loudly, gesturing for the blonde to step inside. "He is. Come in."
Riza stepped inside, standing somewhat uncomfortably in the bar. Madame Christmas noted her straight back and the way the skirt fluttered around her with every movement. "I imagine you've been wandering around the cemetery this evening, Miss Hawkeye?"
Riza looked visibly startled, her amber eyes searching the older woman's face. "I have. Did Colonel Mustang-"
Chris shook her head, chuckling. "He seemed a little shaken up, that Roy Boy. It turns out that he happened across a ghost this evening, while visiting his friend's grave. A lady in white. He's upstairs resting right now."
The sharpshooter quickly looked over her choice in clothing and let out a soft 'ah.' She smoothed out her skirt self-consciously and sighed. "I was looking for him, actually. It's almost the anniversary of General Hughes', well, you know, and the Colonel has a habit of spending his evenings out there. I was just making sure he had…the proper security."
Madame Christmas let the weak excuse slide by. She wouldn't grill the young officer on her feelings for Chris's favorite nephew. That would come later. "He said it suddenly got really cold. He heard a howling, too."
Hawkeye snorted, loosening the ties on her jacket. "You mean the cold front that's been due to come in tonight? Black Hayate was not particularly fond of the weather, or that we came in on the wrong side of the graveyard and got turned around."
Madame Christmas made herself another drink, humming in understanding. "Sounds about right. Looks like you gave your commanding officer a pretty good scare."
Riza swept her bangs out of her face and shrugged. "I heard someone shouting and saw somebody run away. I wasn't sure if it was the Colonel and chased after him. I wasn't sure if he was hurt or not. It looked like he was heading this general direction, so I followed him. Clearly, he is not one for ghosts."
Chris nodded in agreement. "I can go fetch him for you, if you'd like. I doubt he's asleep yet and the girls are more than likely coddling him like a toddler."
The blonde thought it over for a second and shook her head. "That's not necessary, Madame. As long as he's okay. Perhaps in the future he'll be more careful about wandering through gravesites without me."
Chris showed her out, thanking the young woman for stopping by. She admired the girl's tenacity and somewhat cruel way of teaching the boy lessons. It was obvious the girl loved him. You could hear it in the way she talked about him. There was no other reason for her to chase after him out-of-uniform, in the middle of the night, through a cemetery and down the streets of Amestris. Still, they had roles to play, and Chris knew as well as anyone how determined her Roy boy was at achieving his dream.
As she turned out the lights and headed upstairs, she wondered when Roy would finally stop worrying about the country for once and stop running away from his Lady in White. After all, his Lieutenant looked stunning in a white gown.