Chapter 7: The Beginning Revelations
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any aspect of it (besides Seren Soulheart and any other OCs that I add).
A/N: If I do say so myself, I'm in love with this particular piece of writing.
A/N#2: Yes, this is a flashback before anybody asks.
Xerxes is a beautiful place, Seren thought dreamily. She stood at one of the balconies of her father's palace, watching the birds in her personal garden frolic in the fountain. At thirteen summers, she was of marrying age, but she had no wish to lose her sense of adventure quite yet. There had only been one sole escape from the lifelong devotion of a binding marriage; the study of alchemy. Looking back, she sighed, remembering how her father had seemed disappointed in her for not continuing their bloodline with a candidate that he had chosen.
Seren loved King Xerxes dearly, as only a single daughter of a great nation possibly could. Her mother had passed on when she was little due to mysterious circumstances, and they had left their marks on her father. As he aged, he grew afraid of death. Still, Seren thought, I can't blame him for that, my unborn brother passed on along with her. The glorious spring sunrise seemed less bright as she turned in on herself, letting her memories take over.
She broke out of her reverie, however, when the door to her chambers burst open and her Master strode in, golden eyes flaming. He bowed as he stepped onto her balcony, clearly impatient. Seren slowly dropped into a curtsey, her mind racing. What did I do this time?
As if sensing her thoughts, the monk stated, "You haven't done anything yet. Indeed, far from it. It's what you haven't done that I'm worried about, your Highness!"
Seren thought for a second, twirling a strand of her silver hair around a finger. Her amethyst eyes were clouded as she tried to remember what it was that she had been working on. It isn't running water, we have that.. It sure isn't heating, we have all we need of that! Her gaze fell upon the outskirts of the city, taking in the hazy desert. She snapped her fingers, finally remembering.
She gleefully stated, "It was a way to improve our alchemy, right, Master?"
Master slapped a hand against his forehead and let it slide down to eye level. For the space it would take for a person to slowly count to ten, he remained silent. With an obvious amount of effort, he opened his eyes and grinned at Seren.
"Yes, your Highness. Is a certain somebody distracting you from your work?"
Seren blushed at this. Of course not! He was a slave; Slave Number 23 to be precise. Royalty and slaves just didn't mix! However, she did admit that she enjoyed talking to him. In the midst of power, he found it to be his duty to follow all orders faithfully. Sighing, she turned back around to face Master.
"I believe that I know how to create such a force, Master. It will require a special component, however."
Master's eyes widened in shock as he exclaimed, "Really? How is that possible, your Highness?"
Seren thought for a second and shook her head, stating, "I wish to talk to my father about this before I act upon it. I will inform you when I have his assent to act."
Master nodded his head, trusting in his young pupil. If any citizen of Xerxes had had the opportunity to create such a force, it would be one of the royal house. Bowing, he walked back to her door and left.
Seren leaned back against the balcony, sighing. I just lied to Master, she thought morosely. I don't need my father's permission at all. I'm just too frightened to act upon my research!
She watched as a golden dragonfly sailed past her on silent wings. It fled into her room, excitedly flying around and exploring this new world. As it drew nearer to a corner, however, it became stuck. Its attempt to pull free of the sticky web that held it only drew the creature who had created the trap. Seren watched as the spider injected its poison into the dragonfly and began to shroud the twitching insect in a skein of filaments. That done, the spider settled down to feast.
Seren shuddered, unwilling to believe that something like that had occurred at such a time. Was it pure coincidence, she thought, or was it my destiny? Leaving her thoughts unanswered, she swept out of her chambers, searching for Master and a few of the other royal house alchemists.
-Spacer.-
Slave Number 23 sat strapped to a rough wooden plank, eyes averted from the sharp tools that some of the alchemists held in their hands. He could hear a feminine voice speaking from a distance, but he couldn't place who it was that was talking. Sighing, he contented himself with listening to what they were saying.
"My research has lead me to believe that this form of energy can only be harnessed by a willing participant. I hold no doubts that this will succeed, but even I don't know what form this new type of energy will take. Shall we proceed?"
A few voices murmured their assent. One of the alchemists placed a black scarf over Number 23's head, gently tying the fabric into a knot.
The feminine voice was much closer to his ears as she asked, "Are you comfortable, Number 23?"
He nodded, trying to fight down his rising panic. At an unspoken command his left arm was restrained and a sharp object placed on his forearm.
Just as the alchemist wielding the knife was about to draw first blood, Number 23 asked, "Will this hurt?"
The feminine voice let out a short gasp, and hesitated before replying, "Yes, but I will bandage your arm after." Her voice was steely as she commanded, "Proceed."
-Spacer.-
The pain was soon over, and Seren was true to her word. After making sure that Number 23 had not suffered any lasting wounds, she turned around to face the alchemist who held the flask of blood. Nodding, she pointed at a raised stone dais, slightly hollowed in the center. The alchemist gingerly placed the flask in its resting spot as Number 23 was lead out of the room, still blindfolded.
Seren looked at him briefly before turning to the task at hand. She ran a finger over the alchemical array engraved into the stone at her feet. The alchemists shuffled out one by one, until only Master remained, face grave as he peered at Seren. She looked decidedly pale as she waved at him to continue; any mistakes at this part of the process would more than likely result in death. Master gazed at her for one long moment before closing his eyes and walking out of the room, softly shutting the door behind him.
Seren checked her notes one last time to make sure that she hadn't missed any steps. Not finding any mistakes in her array, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and released it. Tranquility fell upon her soon afterwards, and she smiled as the glow of her alchemic aura brightened. The flickering purple flame came into being first, wrapping her in a sheath of warm energy. Tendrils of sky blue ice inched their way into the mist, seemingly melting into it. As the two colors danced around each other, silver sparks of lightning fell down around her. Wrapped in her power, she walked over to stand in front of the stone altar.
Sighing, Seren murmured, "To you, mother. I only wish that I could have shared my life with you more."
She clapped and sighed as her aura flowed down her arms, etching a symbol into the backs of her hands. Drawing her arms slightly apart, she knelt to the ground. For a moment, her face was twisted in indecision. What will happen to me if this rebounds? Her features sharpened; no, there could be no doubt, only action. She placed her hands upon the array and waited for it to activate.
As the array glimmered fitfully, the alchemical reaction took hold. Dust began to swirl around the corners of the room as the flask trembled in its resting spot. The glow became too bright for Seren, so she closed her eyes and waited for the end to come.
-Spacer.-
Light began to reach out from underneath the door, as if trying to escape. Master grimaced in anguish as a piercing scream rose from the laboratory. The alchemists around him shuddered, wondering what had befallen their Princess. Abruptly, however, the scream died off and with it, the light. Master could only expect the worst as he jumped towards the door and pulled it open.
He saw Seren slumped next to the altar, her aura still flickering fitfully. Grabbing a torch, he struck a flint against one of the walls and waited for it to burst into life. As the room became illuminated, all of the alchemists gasped. The flask still stood upon the dais, but instead of blood, it was filled with a murky darkness. Master stood next to it, trying to figure out what was inside it. As his hand neared the cork, however, a hand clutched his ankle. He glanced down in surprise as Seren began to pull herself up.
She coughed weakly before whispering, "Don't remove the stopper. It is the only think preventing the life form inside from escaping."
With that, she drifted off into the realm of unconsciousness. Master bent down to pick her up, worried at her pale complexion. Setting her down on the table that had been used earlier in the day to restrain Slave Number 23, he smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her upon her forehead. Steeling himself, he walked back towards the flask.
Feeling slightly foolish, but not wanting to doubt Seren's words, Master asked, "What are you?"
The darkness resolved into the spherical form of a dark gas cloud. An arm and tail sprouted from its side and began to explore its prison. Finally, a mouth formed, and along with it, a single purple eye. Master gasped as he realized that the creature inside the flask had Seren's eye color; unique to her people and a good omen.
A disembodied voice dully echoed from within the flask, "You can call me Homunculus, for that is who I am."
Did I seriously just write about the creation of Father? What will happen to Seren? Next time in Chapter 8: The Forgotten Life.