Finally, the State arrived. She was in another daze, nearly comatose, on the brink of starvation. Mustang broke through the door, and found Elise laying in a mess of her own filth, blood, and other bodily fluids. She looked terrible. Her natural flesh color was barely visible, beneath all the cuts and bruises that littered her skin.

"Elise? ELISE?" He screamed, cutting away the chains that had held her in place for so long.

"Please… don't hurt me." She mewled, reaching out and unzipping the man's pants.

Mustang was mortified. He pulled Elise's hands away and scooped her up into his arms, "Elise, sweetie, it's me. It's Roy. I'm here darling, I'm here. I'm so sorry I took so long." He leaned against a wall with her, biting back the sobs. He watched as she slowly came to, slowly began to realize what was happening.

"Where are they?" She whispered, looking around the empty room.

"They're dead, Elise. I killed them all." Mustang reassured her.

Elise trembled, and shook so fiercely Mustang could hardly hold her, "There are going to be more. They're going to kill me, Mustang." She sobbed, clinging to him tightly.

He cradled her against his chest, he could only imagine the horror that she'd been through. "I'm taking you back to base. Everything's going to be all right."

:::

Two weeks. Not months. Not years. The time that seemed to crawl so slowly, did. She'd been gone for two weeks. But the two weeks had changed her. She was no longer loud, and outgoing, instead she was shy, and meek, and trembled at a raised voice. Her nightmares were worse than before, she hardly slept. And all Mustang could do was watch.

:::

Elise's bruises and injuries, healed with time. And with just a week of healing, she was ready to go out into the desert once again. But she refused. She wouldn't kill anymore. She just couldn't. But Mustang meant more than any Ishvallan.

:::

"You don't have a choice, Elise." Grand stood behind his desk, glaring down at her.

"Please… Please… Don't make me do it…" Elise begged.

Grand scoffed in disgust, "Either you kill those Ishvalans, or I'll make sure Mustang pays for it."

Elise's mouth dropped open, she stared in disbelief, "You can't. That's against the-"

"I make the rules around here, Elise. I don't care if you're the Fuhrer's daughter or not. You will obey me, or Mustang will suffer."

Elise couldn't protest, she couldn't bear the thought of Mustang being tortured because of her. "Fine. You win." Elise whispered, retreating from the cold, metal office.

:::

Today was the final day. There would be no more messing around. Grand had gotten his hands on something powerful, something terrible. A beautiful red-liquid that seemed to have everyone on edge.

"Elise, come forward." Grand growled, holding his hand.

Elise stepped forward, a silent, shadow that would do his bidding.

"I want you to wear this tonight." Grand opened his hand, revealing a bracelet that had little red beads embedded into the metal.

"What? A gift for me?" She sneered, taking it from him.

Grand smiled, "It'll boost your power, you're going to need it, tonight."

Elise clipped the bracelet around her wrist, a current of power ripped up her arm and sent a buzzing feeling throughout her body. "Oh my…" She whispered, leaning back against Mustang who slipped his ring into his pocket.

"One more thing." Grand threw something at Elise. It hit her and clattered to the ground. "Wear this, too."

Elise reached down and picked up the metal choker-necklace. "Why?" She sighed, but she was already clipping it in place.

"So you know where your place is." Grand muttered.

:::

Mustang paced back and forth in their tent. Worry was etched into every feature on his face. "You can't go tonight. It's not safe." He sighed, looking to Elise hopefully.

"I'm going, Mustang, I have to go." Elise murmured, gently pulling him down to sit next to her. "Relax, everything's going to be alright. It's just another mission, right?" She tried to smile, but she couldn't. Tears began to brim, and then fell down her cheeks. She hated crying.

Mustang held her tightly, he wished – more than anything – that he could take her pain away. "Elise… I promise that this will be the last night you have to do this."

Elise looked up with tearful eyes, "What?"

"I promised you I would always protect you, I'm so sorry that I couldn't fulfill that before. But I won't let anything hurt you again. Elise… I – I love you… I love you so much. Will you… I mean… Will you stay with me forever?"

Elise's smile lit up the room. She wiped her eyes and began to laugh, "Yes! Oh, Yes I will Mustang!" She hugged him tightly, never wanting to let go.

"Thank goodness… I've been wanting to ask for so long… But, I've been so nervous and I didn't know how, and-"

"I love you, Mustang." She whispered, kissing him intensely.

Mustang cradled her tightly against him, he lay in his cot next to her and stared up at the green tarp of the ceiling.

"It's time to go." Mustang whispered, nuzzling his way into Elise's hair.

Elise nodded and touched the metal that surrounded her neck. "I'll see you once this is all over. Then we'll run away and never return." Elise soothed, kissing away Mustang's worry. She stepped through the door of the tent and hopped into the jeep that waited for her. 'I promise I'll come back.' She thought, not daring to turn around.

:::

The jeep dropped her off just before a large city.

Elise jumped out and silently converged upon the restless city. Her military jacket gave her away instantly. The people couldn't believe their eyes. They had heard rumors about a small child, but no one truly believed.

"LEAVE NOW BEFORE WE KILL YOU!"

"THIS IS NO PLACE FOR A CHILD! LEAVE!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

Elise trembled. The horrifying memories of her captivation overcame her; she began to shake furiously and collapsed to her knees. "You bastards… You bastards…" She hissed, her golden eyes went steely and she released her wrath upon the city.

The people ran away in masses.

Elise stalked through the city, she turned the buildings to crumpled piles of dust, used the electricity in the air to send currents of energy at the people. She watched them evaporate into the air. She had no emotions left. The trauma was too much. She simply shut her mind out.