A/N: Chapter three here we go! Not much happens but I'm trying to ease Willow into the story before all the excitement starts! Hope you guys enjoy! Please Review and tell me what you think! And thank you to all the people who followed or favorited my story :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC
The station was bustling with people. A person could tell just by looking if they were about to catch a train or had just gotten off one. People catching trains were either rushing towards the tracks or walking along with their clothes clean and pressed. The ones who had gotten off however were yawning and stretching, clothes rumpled with bags under their eyes. Trains were fun to travel in but they certainly weren't fun to sleep in.
Willow mused these things quietly to herself as she sat on a bench near the train she would be taking with the Elric brothers. Her suitcase was placed near her, while she clutched a small bag with the strap slung over her shoulder. Light brown eyes roamed around the platform, half observing and half searching for her companions. For her travels she had opted for a new outfit. Her bangs were pushed back from her forehead with a headband, and the turtle neck shirt she wore was a dark blue. Her black pants matched the coat she had placed on top of her suitcase, the station a little too hot for her to put it on. And her feet were clad in the boots she had been wearing the night before.
The girl yawned widely, having stayed up for the majority of the night a mixture of excitement and nervousness, twisting her gut.
Riza had dropped her off at the station fifteen minutes ago. Since Riza sometimes picked up Roy he had been there as well. They didn't talk. None of them. But Roy had walked her to her spot and set her suitcase down for her, while Riza had made sure to keep her close at her side. Then with a parting smile they were both gone.
Willow sighed. She would miss the both of them, Riza especially. But this was something she just had to do. She had to find a cure if she ever wanted to live a normal life.
And speaking of the cure. The girl frowned as she felt the telltale ache begin to form in her right knee. Seems like she would have to use her crutch for the day if the pain worsened. Willow certainly wasn't looking forward to that. She didn't want the Elric Brothers to think that she was an invalid.
"Ah! Willow!"
Speaking of her companions. The young girl looked up, smiling at the sight of Major Armstrong. Riza had told her last night that he would be coming along. And Willow was glad. She didn't know the Brothers yet and it would take her some time to break out of the shell of nervousness and insecurity she had built around herself, if Major Armstrong was around. Edward was standing at his side, and Alphonse…was in a box that the Major was carrying. Light brown eyes blinked as she looked up at the armor, who only offered a slight motion of tilting forward in greeting.
"Alright then pipsqueak! Lets get started on our trip."
Willow stared at him in confusion. "Pipsqueak?" She asked, sounding just as confused as she looked.
"Brother!" Al hissed. The older Elric shrugged.
"What? She's small! And its not like I'm saying it to insult her." With that the boy turned around and started to walk towards their train, his suitcase slung over his shoulder. That was rather strange. Were all boys like that? Beside her the Major sighed before picked up her suitcase.
"I shall be back Willow." He said before walking away. Willow only gripped the strap of her shoulder bag before trotting after Edward, wincing slightly at the sudden pain in her right knee.
Pipsqueak?
Brown eyes scanned the words printed on the pages of a rather thick book. Since boarding the train, and after waving goodbye to Maes who had come to see them off, Willow had immersed herself into reading the new book on medicinal herbs from the mountains, which she had brought along with here. Riza had only allowed her one book, seeing as Willow had wanted to take her whole library stuffed into her suitcase instead of clothes and other necessities. After a small battle between the two sisters the younger one had finally given in when the older threatened to call off the whole trip altogether.
"What you got there Willow?"
She tore her eyes away from the script to find Edward watching her curiously as she sat across from her. The girl managed to heave the book from the bench where she had been resting it seeing as it was too heavy for her to lift. She showed Ed the cover, who leaned forward to read the script.
"Properties of Herbs of the Western Mountains?" He asked, glancing at her with a raised eyebrow. The girl nodded.
"Yeah! I'm studying to become a medicinal herbalist and a plant alchemist." She explained, somewhat shyly, putting the book down beside her, flexing her fingers afterwards.
"Young Willow performed Alchemy at quite the young age I've heard. Around eight to nine years old. Or was it seven. I can't quite remember." Major Armstrong said, sounding proud of the girl's accomplishment. The girl, on her part, flushed with embarrassment.
"I don't think it is anything compared to when Edward and Alphonse started to perform alchemy. You were four or five years old, correct?" Willow turned her inquiring brown eyes to the golden haired boy who nodded, grinning proudly.
"Yup! And from then on, there was no stopping either of us." He declared proudly, fisting his remaining hand and punching the air. The three travelers sat in a companionable silence for a few minutes before Ed spoke.
"Hey Willow? The Colonel said that you would be able to get us back our bodies?" He turned to look at her from where he had been watching the scenery pass. "How do you intend to do that?"
The girl, closed her book, after marking where she had left off and turned to pull something out from her bag. "Well I have been studying Bioalchemy for a very long time. And I think I might be able to help you two somehow. I hope." She finally pulled out the object she had been looking for.
"Here! I think this will explain." She said, holding out a book that was leather bound. Reaching out the young alchemist took the book before opening it, his eyes scanning the writing that was penned inside.
"Woah!" He whispered, looking at the details of the figures drawn inside. "These are really detailed."
Willow nodded. "Those are all the notes I thought would be relevant for my own research. Some of it is written in code, as many alchemists do, but the other information is fairly easy to understand." She explained. "I thought maybe it would help you guys, I'm not sure though. I started to record what I found while I was looking for a cure."
"Oh yeah! You did say you were looking for a cure weren't you?" He asked, tearing his gaze from the book to look at her. "Mind telling me what it is?"
Armstrong who had been watching the interaction between the two children silently now intervened.
"Now Edward, you mustn't nag Willow about something that is personal to her." He looked like he was about to say something else but the girl interrupted him, shaking her head.
"No, its alright Major." She turned to look at the golden haired alchemist. "I will explain everything Edward, I promise, once we have you and your brother fixed up. Then I promise I will tell you all about the cure and why I need to find one."
Edward frowned. There were a few seconds of tense silence before he let out an exasperated sigh.
"Fine! I guess it's better to tell a story once then twice." He said, before turning his head to resume looking out the window, cheek resting on his hand, with his elbow atop the window sill. Willow yawned.
"I think I'm gonna take a little nap." She said, rubbing her right eye with the back of her hand as she pushed aside her book enough so that she had space on the bench she was occupying. Not that she needed much space. She was already so small. The girl lay her head down on her bundled up coat and closed her eyes.
Within minutes she was sound asleep.
"Willow! Hey! Wake up!"
A small groan fell from her lips as she snuggled deeper into her pillow. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. Her pillow seemed a little hard though.
"Willow!" This time she was roughly shaken by the shoulder.
The voice was sharp and a little loud prompting the girl to sit up, eyes wide and darting around, looking a little confused as to where she was.
"Wh-OW!"
As soon as she sat up a stab of pain cut through her sleep filled mind. The girl curled up, bending her throbbing knee slightly as she pursed her lips to keep herself from crying out again.
"Willow!"
"I swear I didn't do anything!"
Through her haze of pain and sleep the girl was able to make out the voices of Edward and Major Armstrong.
"I'm fine." The words flew out of her mouth on instinct. Words her tongue had memorized to form every time she was in pain. Taking a deep breath the girl gently unbent her knee wincing at the sensation that only she could feel.
Turning her gaze to the concerned males standing beside her Willow gave a smile. A rather convincing one seeing as she had practiced for quite some time. "See! Completely fine."
Edward frowned not believing the girl's reassurance, while Major Armstrong looked at the brown haired girl with concern. The silence was getting a little uncomfortable and caused Willow to shift where she sat, careful not to move her leg.
"So are we here?"
That seemed to break Edward out of whatever trance he was in as he shook his head.
"No, we're stopping at this station. Major Armstrong just saw someone who might know a lot about Bioalchemy. We're going to go look for him." Willow nodded, slowly standing up.
"Great. Just let me get something." From inside her bag Willow pulled out a wooden pole, the size of Edward's mechanical arm. The Fullmetal Alchemist watched curiously as the girl wrapped her hand around the staff and the compartment was filled with green light as she activated her alchemy. The staff elongated and twisted before forming a simple crutch. Willow smiled in satisfaction before placing it under her arm, and picking up her coat.
"Shall we then?" With that she turned, starting to limp her way out of the compartment towards the door. The blonde haired teen turned to gaze questioningly at the Major who only sighed and looked at him sadly, before moving to retrieve both Edward's and Willow's suitcase from the compartment above their heads.
"She will explain everything Edward. She made a promise." Their gazes held for a few seconds before Edward broke it and started after Willow.
By the time Willow had made it outside she was sweating. The pain was getting bad. And her shoulder had already started to ache from holding up her weight. She had never been a strong girl. And her condition only made her all the more weak. Collapsing onto a nearby bench, she wiped at her brow, wincing as she set her crutch beside her.
"Maybe you should wait here for us Willow? You're clearly in no condition to walk." Edward suggested, standing in front of her. Willow frowned and opened her mouth to argue back.
"Its quite a walk from the station to our mechanic's shop. You should save your energy for that." Brown eyes blinked having not expected him to say anything like that.
"He is right Willow. It would be better if you conserved your energy." Major Armstrong seconded the young Alchemist's opinion as he walked over, carrying Alphonse over his shoulder in the box. The bags he had already placed next to the bench Willow was sitting on.
"Why? What's wrong with her?" The armor bound boy asked, turning his helmet to look at Willow. Edward suddenly grinned.
"And since Al can't talk in front of anyone seeing as he is….not quite put together-"
"Hey!"
"-he can stay with you and keep you company!" Major Armstrong finished Edward's suggestion. "An excellent idea Edward Elric!" The man boomed before dropping Al's box on the floor, beside the bench, jostling him around slightly.
"We shall see you in half an hour or so."
With that they were both walking away, leaving Willow and Alphonse to stare after them with dazed eyes and confused expressions, just as the train let out a warning whistle as it pulled out of the station.
Finally Willow sighed, and pulled her bag open. Pulling out a water container and a wooden tub that was the size of his hand, Alphonse noted. She bent down to grasp the right leg of her trousers before pulling it up, bunching the fabric above her knee. Alphonse looked curiously at the exposed skin and was surprised to find that her knee looked discolored and slightly swollen.
"Did you hurt yourself?" He asked, as she opened the small wooden tub to reveal a clear paste inside.
"You could say that." The girl replied as she lathered her fingers with the paste before applying it to her knee. Instantly the girl released a sigh of relief at the instant relief she received. Willow frowned and tested her shoulder, rolling it around before shrugging.
"Must be my lucky day. My shoulder doesn't hurt much." She said with a grin at the Alphonse, who only gaze back at her curiously. Or as curiously as an armor could look. He continued to watch as she un-stoppered the container albeit a little grudgingly.
"And now comes the fun part." The girl grumbled under her breath. A quick gulp was followed by a grimace and sound of disgust as she quickly stoppered the container.
"That never gets easy." The container was thrown back into the bag as was the tub of paste. Willow hummed as she looked at her fingers where they were bandaged, flexing her digits.
"Think I should change my bandages?" She asked Alphonse, turning to find him already staring at her. There was a slight sound of metal against metal as he shrugged the one shoulder he had left.
"They look alright to me. Maybe you should change them just before we get to Resembool?" He suggested. "Arrive with clean bandages?" His voice sounded a bit uncertain, but Willow nodded.
There were a few minutes of silence.
"Does it hurt a lot?" He asked, his voice hesitant. Willow pursed her lips lightly before shrugging, the ankle of her throbbing leg lightly against the floor.
"Sometimes its just a dull ache that happens after you're injured." The pain was slowly subsiding. "And sometimes its so bad I can barely breath." She lowered the pant leg she had pulled up, wincing slightly as her limb jostled.
"Another day, another fight." She muttered, pushing herself to her feet and after a slight grunt of pain, and a gasp of alarm from Alphonse, who was afraid she might fall, the thirteen year old was back on her feet.
They both waited in complete silence after that, with Willow standing and Alphonse wandering what was wrong with her.
An hour later they were aboard the train once more, this time with Alphonse's box set across from Edward and Armstrong since neither of them could really fit given how it took up most of the space on the bench. Willow, being the smallest of the group had settled next to Alphonse, her gaze trained out the window.
"Brother, what does the note say?" Alphonse spoke, not able to keep a hold of his curiosity any longer. His older brother unfolded the piece of paper Dr. Marcoh had given him.
"National Central Library, First Branch." He read out loud.
"National Central Library. A monument that is as big as the Central Command and houses over eight billion books, not counting the police and military records that are kept inside. Has quite the impressive collection of rare books which are kept under lock and key and can only be accessed if you're someone high in the military or have some kind of research that has been approved by the military." Silence followed her little speech. Willow blushed, despite not meeting any of their gazes as she continued to look out the window. "I read a lot." The girl muttered quickly, nearly squirming in her seat from the stares. Finally, and thankfully, Armstrong spoke.
"I get it." She exhaled in relief, as her shoulders dropped visibly when the attention was taken away from her. "Like hiding a tree in the forest. Finding one book in that giant library will be difficult indeed." But the Major's observation did not stop Edward from smiling with confidence as he gripped the paper.
"Finally, another clue about the stone!" He whispered. Alphonse too felt a surge of happiness rush through his soul as he thought about the answer to getting their bodies back sitting on the shelves of a library. He remembered something though and turned his head to look at the girl sitting beside him.
"So will you tell us why you refused Dr. Marcoh's help when he offered?" He asked, gazing at her, feeling curious. She opened her mouth to reply, but Edward beat her to it.
"Let me guess. You're going to explain when we get to Resembool?" There was a teasing note to his voice and Willow was strongly reminded of Roy as she turned to find the boy smirking at her.
Had he picked up that smirk from Roy while staying under his command?
Nevertheless the girl couldn't help but smile as she nodded.
"Yes. I promise." She first looked at Edward before turning to Alphonse, who nodded back at her to show he understood.
A/N: Not much happened yea, but DANG that was about seven word pages. :P Anyway! Next chapter will be up probably sometime this week and it will finally be revealed why Willow is looking for a cure? Hmm..I wonder whats the thing she wants to cure? :3
Please Review! Until next time! :) - Hestia28