April 29, 1905
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Major Roy Mustang: 19 years old
Captain Maes Hughes: 19 years old
Private Elizabeth Hawkeye: 18 years old
Private Maro Otori: 17 years old
Private Jean Havoc: 18 years old
Private Maria Ross: 17 years old
Corporal Edwin Hawkeye: Died 18 years old, December 1904
Maro Eleni Hawkeye: 13-14 weeks old
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Riza's Diary,
Things soon fell into a sort of routine around the fortress. Once we arrived, the threat of war was soon proved to be a false one- nobody dares attack. I hope it stay that way, though I honestly doubt it will. I see Roy- Major Mustang more often these days, but I never speak to him. I wanted to at first, but now I think he might be angry with me for leaving home… and Maro…
The truth is, I miss Maro dearly, though I could only have her a few months… I miss the way her tiny little body fit so perfectly in my arms, and the little sounds she made, and the darling way she would snuggle into my chest when she was tired… she looks so much like her father- it pains me that she will never know him, nor me, but I'm trying not to think about that. I try every day to convince myself that what matters now is this war and the lives that are at stake here, but I can't help missing them. I've thought more than once that perhaps coming here was a mistake, but then I see him- Major Mustang- and I know that what matters to me most is keeping him safe. I want him to succeed in his dream where I couldn't in mine…
Adieu,
Riza.
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Narrative P.O.V.
The next to die was Riza's dear friend, Private Maro Otori. It had been late that night and she had been walking outside the fortress with an Ishbalan woman she knew and cared for like a sister. They had spent the night together, and many like nights beforehand, talking and laughing like old friends- it had been a beautiful way to escape the horrors of war. She had been able to pretend in vain that all Ishbalans were like her friend- so kind and caring… still, as it neared midnight and the head count in the fortress, Maro had had to leave- running off like Cinderella from her ball.
It had been attempting to sneak back into the fortress after hours that Maro had found herself with a bullet in the side of her head. She had died slowly and in great pain but nobody cared. The body was collected several hours later and only then did the sniper realise that she had shot one of her own. She wept for her then but it was too late.
Through her disdain and spite for the Ishbalans, or perhaps her desperate need to protect her comrades… Riza Hawkeye had killed her own best friend.