Author's notes: Hey everybody, I finally tracked down Turtlequeen2 long enough to finish this chapter. glares I honestly didn't think that it would take this long to find her, but I hope that she sticks around for a bit…
Turtlequeen2: Yeah, heh heh, scratches back of head Sorry? Due to some complications, I was kinda not around... I apologize! bows Well, since this was released around this time of year, uh, Happy Holidays!
Sappho's Daughter: Hopefully this chapter will be well worth the wait, and it will be updated again soon! Thank you to everyone who has waited so long!
Later that night, Rosette rejoined the boys for dinner. She had changed her clothes and was now wearing jet black jeans and a heavy dark blue sweater. Her face had been expertly repaired, and you would have never known that she had been crying unless you were looking very closely. "Good evening gentlemen, I hope that I haven't kept you waiting very long."
All of the boys greeted her with a smile.
"So, are you doing well tonight?" Edward asked, hoping that her night was going better than his was. He was so aggravated with Ronald that if Alphonse wasn't around, he would have left a few bruises on the bastard by now.
"Yes, thank you. Are the three of you comfortable in your room? It must be crowded in there." Rosette replied, hiding a sympathetic smile. "Do any of you know what is going to be served for dinner tonight?"
"We're doing just peachy..." Edward managed to get out between clenched teeth.
Alphonse let out a small sigh. He knew exactly why his older brother was so tense.
Throwing an almost unseen glare at Edward, Ron shifted his feet and forced a smile. He did not like the alchemist one bit. He couldn't understand why his woman could be as pleasant around someone as stubborn as Edward. "Yes, we are doing well..." he lied.
Not noticing the growing tension between the boys, the redhead nodded almost absently as she calmly pulled a chair aside so she could pull up under the table properly. Automatically, she set one of her notebooks on the table and pulled a pen out from behind her ear.
The three men pulled out their chairs and sat in them.
Alphonse was the first to notice Rosette's actions. "So...are you writing more to show Colonel Mustang?" he asked humbly. He also questioned her because he wanted to lift some of the tension that was building up between his brother and Ron.
"Actually, this is a novel idea that I'm toying with. I haven't decided if I want to show this to Roy or not yet. Right now I'm hammering out what I want to happen when." Rosette replied, idly chewing on her pen as she opened the notebook.
Before she could explain further, she felt hands pull her notebook out from under her pen. As expected, it was Ronald. "Dear, it is rude for you to be writing while we're eating. You should grace us with your words instead of just your presence."
Noticing Rosette's expression of annoyance and slight anger, Edward decided to speak. "Or do you mean grace you with her words? As far as I'm concerned, I don't mind her writing since she has the idea in mind at the present time. You should learn to let her do what she wants to do instead of controlling her every action."
Alphonse resisted the urge to smack his armored head with his hand. Now Edward had done it...
Ronald's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to tell me how to act around my fiancée?" he demanded.
Edward smirked. "I guess I am."
Rosette spoke up now. "Ronald, you know that I would never be so rude as to write while I'm eating in front of our guests. I am merely getting this down so that I don't forget before dinner." She reproached gently.
Her fiancé raised his eyebrow and calmed slightly at her voice and expression. "Well, still, it would be better if you would put it away," he replied in an off-tone.
"I would have done it sooner if you had let me finish." She replied with a bit of snap coloring her voice. "If I lose this train of thought because of your behavior, I will be very cross with you."
Edward and Alphonse looked at each other, both mutually annoyed with their argument. However, Edward was the only one who decided to voice his opinions. "Ron, perhaps, you could let her finish just this once," he suggested in a voice that sounded like he was struggling with his politeness.
The man threw back a glare at the small alchemist and resisted the urge to begin another fight with him. He let out a sigh of defeat when he saw all of their expressions. Ron knew that he had lost. Throwing up his arms, he declared, "All right, all right, you win, but don't blame me if this place gets silent..."
'If it's anyone's fault, it's yours!' Edward growled mentally.
Carefully, Rosette slid her notebook back into place away from Ronald and began to write madly on the page. When dinner arrived, she regretfully closed her notebook and tucked it at her side before putting the pen back behind her ear. "Thank you."
Edward felt a small smile tug at his lips and he gave her the friendly expression before returning to his normal neutral countenance.
Ronald liked it when Rosette thanked him for things. "You're more than welcome," he smirked.
'Give me a break...' the State Alchemist mentally groaned, hearing Ronald's reply.
The redhead smiled at them both, but winked at Edward when Ronald wasn't looking. After the subtle action was made, she started to eat her food. However, like Ed, her milk remained untouched.
If Al could have smiled, he would have. "Rosette, does your milk taste all right? You've barely touched it," he noted calmly.
Edward immediately turned his attention on his brother and the woman sitting across from him. Now that Alphonse mentioned it, she didn't touch her milk... He listened closely to her answer.
Rosette smiled. "Milk and other dairy products don't agree with me very well." She replied, not wanting to admit that her body couldn't handle those foods.
A grin nearly spread across Edward's face when he heard her say those words. "Are you serious? I hate milk!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm. "And Al here thought that I was weird for not drinking it!" he added, pointing at his sighing brother.
"It's not the fact that I hate it. I can't eat anything that is made from dairy. My body can't tolerate it anymore." She answered in reply.
"Oh..." Edward said, taking aback by the sudden change of words. "I can't particularly say that it's bad since I dislike it so much..." he stated in a calmer tone of voice.
"I know and for the record, I can drink it if I absolutely have to, but I'll be ill for a few days afterwards."
Edward nodded, taking in the information. He hadn't thought about how bad her condition must have been. When he first saw her, he merely just saw a woman in a wheelchair; not one with internal issues as well.
She continued to eat her meal, but her plate was still half full when she made to push it away.
Ronald sat eating his fill in silence, only paying attention to Rosette when she was talking to Edward. When he noticed her push away her plate, he decided to speak up. "Darling, why didn't you finish eating what's on your plate? You don't know when we'll eat next," Ronald explained.
"I can only eat so much, Ronald. What may the normal amount of food for one person might not be the normal amount for someone else. Besides, guys eat more than girls do," she said, smiling slightly. "If I get hungry later, I have snacks in my bag." Rosette shrugged nonchalantly.
For his part, Rosette's fiancée wasn't too pleased with her statement but knew that he couldn't forcibly make her eat. Not only would that cause attention shift to him in public, but it would also cause Edward to try and harm him. He couldn't have that. Maintaining his composure, he smiled. "I'm just concerned about your health, darling."
Rosette nodded once in graciousness. "Thank you, but I think that I can take care of myself, Ronald."
The man found it harder to maintain his cool. He did, however, note how she actually meant her gratitude. That was a point for him. "I know that you're more than capable. I'm just making sure that you can maintain the health so that you can continue doing so."
Edward resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why couldn't he just leave things be? She was already thankful and he had to go and push himself.
After a minute, the redhead backed up. "I'm going for a roll to clear my head, the three of you should get some rest."
Ronald stifled a sigh while Edward nodded in a simple fashion. If Alphonse had a mouth that was movable, he would have probably given her a small smile.
Getting out of his chair, Ronald was about to say something when Edward's glare in his direction stopped him from doing so.
She nodded to them before rolling out of the inn, her notebook safely tucked in at her side. Once she was outside, she sighed sadly and wandered thoughtfully down the street.
The young state alchemist cast a look at his brother. 'Do you think that she'll be okay?' he mentally questioned.
'I don't know.' Al replied. 'She might be upset. I don't think she had wanted us to see her legs.'
'As if that weren't made obvious enough earlier...' Ed sarcastically shot back. 'I wonder what happened... By the looks of it, the bastard didn't even know, either.'
'From the way she acted, I wouldn't ask. Her legs might have healed, but I don't think her heart has...' Al replied.
'Yeah...' This was the elder's answering mental sigh. "Well, I guess we should all go to bed..." he murmured out loud. He thought about the investigations he'd have to deal with tomorrow, and had a suspicion that the false healer had something to do with it.
Ronald stared at the two brothers and noticed that by their stances, they appeared to be able to mentally communicate. He quickly pushed aside the thought, denouncing it as impossible. He had better things to think about.
Al stood up. "I don't think we need to wait up for her." He said out loud.
The oldest man there felt his mood change from worry into anger. Who was she to decide to excuse herself so hastily? Not to mention, she didn't even get anyone to protect her in case some idiot tried to mug her or something of the sort. He knew that he could do nothing and so remained quiet.
Meanwhile, Rosette wandered aimlessly, lost in deep thought. Finally she parked in the town square, idly rubbing her leg, feeling one of the scars but having no feeling in the legs themselves.
Robert; the man who caused her entire dilemma to begin, noticed her leave the inn and waited to approach her until she was far enough away from the men who seemed to be her protectors. With an apologetic expression on his face, he made himself appear sorry for what he had done. "Young lady!" he exclaimed. He noticed her flinch, but persisted more cautiously. "I have been looking for you all day. I feel horrible for my earlier actions."
Rosette looked at him gravely. "Thank you. I know you were only trying to help." She was trying to be nice, but she couldn't get his disgusted look out of her mind.
"I do truly want to help you, regardless of your condition," he said, choosing his words carefully. "I know of a way to cure you. I will admit that I wouldn't be able to do it with my own powers alone, but there is a way."
"I'm not greedy. Even if I could never walk again, I would settle for regaining the feeling back in my legs. The scars don't matter."
A grin almost formed on his face, but he pushed it down before it could show. He was beginning to catch her interest. "It's a special ceremony. I've done it more than once and it has never failed," he explained.
"How long does it take?" Rosette asked, trying to stamp down the hope that was trying to emerge. "What does it entail?"
"Oh, it takes no time at all," he smiled. "Just a few minutes." He thought to himself quickly, not wanting to mention the stone he would use. "I merely have to touch your problem areas with a special tool of mine and they will go away."
Rosette bit her lip. "My injuries aren't..." She blushed in shame.
The healer noticed her expression and tried his best to give her a comforting look. "Even if you have such high pride about yourself, you ultimately want to be able to walk again, right? At the very least, you want to get rid of the reminder of such horrible events you must have experienced..." It was as if he could read through her every thought.
She closed her eyes and nodded. "I would have to strip from waist down... it's not pretty." Rosette said softly.
"Well, to save anyone from seeing you exposed in public, we would have to go somewhere else," he murmured. "I live to help others so you don't have to worry."
Again, Rosette nodded. "All right."
"My manor is down the street from here, if you don't mind the location," Robert announced.
She frowned, then unlocked her breaks and nodded slowly. Even though this wasn't smart, Rosette couldn't help but want to try.
"Please, follow me," he directed, beginning to walk away from her and then towards a deserted street in the quiet town.
"Where is she?" demanded an irate Ronald. He was pacing the floor of the shared room. His future wife shouldn't be out this long without his company!
Edward actually agreed with the man for once since their meeting. She had been gone for almost an hour. If she had returned, they would have heard her wheelchair creak outside of their room.
Al looked at Ronald. "She just went to look around. If there's a bookstore, I wouldn't worry."
"There are bookstores open at this time of day?" his older brother asked with his eyebrow raised. "I thought that most towns shut down after sun down." He immediately wanted to hit himself when he realized why Alphonse said what he said the moment before. It was only to make Ronald calm down. Oh well.
"If she doesn't come back within ten minutes, I'm going out to look for her..." the man growled. Edward's statement made things worse, as expected.
'Gee, thanks.' Al snapped to his brother.
'Sorry. I wasn't thinking,' Ed responded. 'I'm just hoping that healer didn't meet with her while she was on her walk...'
'You read my mind... I don't like this.' Al replied
'Me, either...' However angry Ronald was, the elder Elric didn't want him going along with them. As much as he wanted him to be a casualty, he didn't want Rosette upset. If what they thought was true, then it would be dangerous for a civilian.
"We'll go look for her. It won't take long." Al said to Ronald calmly.
Ronald looked ready to protest, but Edward interrupted his potential rant. "You should stay here in case she returns."
Al waited, ready to knock Ronald out if needed.
The man surprisingly, relented. "Alright, then..." he muttered despite not liking the position he was being put in.
Ed smirked. "Okay, then." Glancing over at Al, he said, "Let's go!" He pushed open the door, rushing out of it.
Rosette was alone in the waiting room, trying to work up the courage to remove her pants. Even after all this time, she still hadn't gotten used to her disability. She had just gotten good at hiding how she felt about it.
"Please, tell me when you're ready, Rosette," Robert called out from behind the door. He was wearing a weird necklace that he hadn't had on when he first met her in the town center. At the end of the chain rested a large chunk of a red stone.
She swallowed. "I've got to take them off completely right?" The redhead sounded nervous.
"Yes, you would have to if you want both of your legs to be healed," he replied.
"Please, relax yourself," he added, noticing her nervous tone.
Biting her lip hard, she wiggled out of her pants, but left on her underwear, revealing the full extent of the damage that was done to her. "Okay." Rosette called.
"You may come out. I will try my hardest to try and not make you seem uncomfortable," the man urged.
Again, Rosette braced herself against the emotional pain, the door slowly opened and she rolled out.
He smiled at her and noted her bravery. "Roll over towards the middle of the room, please," he instructed.
Rosette silently did as she was told, trying to keep the hope out of her gray eyes.
Robert kneeled down onto his knees before her. Taking the necklace off, he dangled the chain an inch above her legs so the stone would be near them. He began to channel his energy through the stone, not paying attention to the red glow that began to shine throughout the room.
The redhead gritted her teeth, trying to control her nerves.
He saw the abnormal amount of scars on her legs and mentally admitted that he had never seen so many on one person before. He began to lower the stone and the gem touched her legs for but a moment. He was ready to begin...
There was a sudden crash as the door was kicked open. "Hey! Bastard! I thought we told you not to go around her!" The angry yell of a certain alchemist rang throughout the room.
Al was horrified at what he saw; he could almost understand why she would try this. He stood by his brother, and wished he could smile at her to let her know it was okay.
Immediately, the glow of crimson ceased. The man rose up and threw a glare back at Edward. "How dare you interrupt this girl's chance at a miracle cure?!"
The alchemist snorted. "Like hell you could cure her. You're using a fake philosopher's stone!"
Rosette frowned, and made to back up, not wanting them to see her like this.
Robert scowled. "The State always has to interfere with everything that's good about the world, don't they?" His voice was laced with rage.
Edward glowered. "I don't know what you're trying to play at, but I know that you're going for power. We're going to prevent that from happening!" By "we're," he was referring to him and his brother.
"Rosette, go into the other room," Al said to the redhead gently, grateful that his armor hid his feelings.
The older brother felt rage boil up within him. How could someone build that girl's hopes up so high like that? It was cruel. The stone would possibly cure her, but there would be a cost to it. Once she learned of the stone, she wouldn't be too happy to know that people's lives were sacrificed for her cure. "I think it's about time you get shut down..." Amber eyes flashed with anger. He was prepared to fight.
Rosette fled the room, trying not to cry in shame.
Al's anger was also boiling. 'Let's get rid of him.' he snarled to his brother.
'I'd love nothing better...' the boy growled mentally.
"Ha! You think that you could kill me?" Robert laughed. He acted as if the notion were comical. "With this stone," the man said, holding up the necklace, "I can kill you before you could even get near me!"
The elder brother clapped his hands together, producing a blade out of his automail arm. "We'll see about that!" he yelled, charging towards Robert.
Al was grateful that Rosette wasn't here as he played back up to his brother, creating walls if needed to protect him.
The con man pointed his stone out, launching out torrents of knives by breaking up the necklace chain. "Die!" he yelled as the weapons were aimed straight towards Edward.
Not stopping to think, Al drew an array on the rough surface of the wooden floor, putting up a wall just in time to protect then both, hoping that Robert wouldn't try to use Rosette as a hostage. 'Good thing I started keeping a box of chalk sticks in my armor!'
'Thanks...' Ed mentally acknowledged. If it weren't for Alphonse, he would have been injured by now.
All of the knives stabbed into the wall, not scratching either of the boys. That left Robert furious. Reaching up to touch the low ceiling, he produced raining daggers. "Do you think that you could make a wall to protect you from the ceiling?" he mocked.
Edward smirked. 'I think I have a plan, Al. Follow my lead.'
'Go for it, but try to keep him away from the door!' Al answered
'Got it!' The young state alchemist clapped his hands together to produce a barrage of wooden stakes to jut out from the wall. With the daggers falling on the two brothers, he had to move fast. Hissing at each cut made on his skin, he prayed that nothing fatally would result out of the fight.
Robert looked started at the stakes, but laughed since he was a long ways away from the wall. "Is that the best you have, Fullmetal Alchemist?" he taunted.
Edward sneered. "Nope!" While the man grew distracted, Ed had continued charging towards him, sacrificing his body in the process. Jumping up, he landed on top of the false healer, knocking the stone away from his hands.
Robert's eyes flashed panic. "M-my stone!" he yelped as Edward's blade was held at his neck.
Al stamped on the stone, shattering it with an angry blow of his heel.
Keeping his haughty smile in place, Ed called back towards his brother. "What should we do to him, Al?"
"Let's turn him in. We have bigger things to deal with." Al said in a deadly calm voice.
The elder Elric snorted in a disappointed fashion. "And I thought that I could rough him up a bit..." he murmured, not paying any attention to the panicking man beneath him.
"We have orders, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, calming down in the slightest bit. "We still have to make sure he doesn't get away, though," he added, getting up while still holding the blade to the man's neck.
"Knock him out." Al wasn't in a good mood.
"That works for me." Transmuting the blade back into a normal arm, Ed used it to hit the guy on the top of his head to knock him unconscious.
Robert could do nothing in protest and felt his lids get heavy when the blow was delivered.
Now Al really looked at her older brother. "Are you okay though Ed?"
It was now that Edward noticed that his clothes were shredded in many places throughout his body. His blood dripped out of his red jacket, staining it a darker shade of crimson. "Dammit..." he cursed. He had suffered worse, but the cuts would still need to be cared for.
The boy felt liquid trickle down his face, signifying that he was cut across his cheeks as well.
Only now did Rosette poke her head out. Seeing the blood, she ducked back in, only to come back out with a clean towel that she wordlessly gave to Edward.
"T-thanks..." the young teen stuttered out, grabbing the towel from her shaky hands. He grew nervous because he didn't know how she felt towards them. He began to say something, but could only say her name. "Rosette..."
Rosette only shook her head, but not before Edward saw the tears pool in her wounded gray eyes.
Edward knew that saying "sorry" wouldn't even begin to repair the damage that had been done. He snapped his mouth closed and used the towel to try and wipe his face off. The blood continued flowing; only staining the white material red.
Frowning, she just pointed to the room she had come out of, unable to speak.
A seductive laugh sounded from the darkness of the room. Twinkling ruby eyes appeared with the rest of the black form. "Such a pity that you had to go and ruin my plans again, Fullmetal boy," the female voice purred. Pale skin contrasted greatly from the black dress and gloves. The woman's lips formed a slight frown. "Whatever did I do to deserve such cruelty?"
"Y-You're one of those homunculi!" Edward declared as his eyes widened. The towel in his hands dropped to the ground.
Rosette swallowed, but couldn't say anything, though she heard Al come up behind her.
"I'm imagining that you're the one who gave that bastard the stone, right?" Edward growled, feeling anger well up inside of him, as well as a little bit of fear.
"You're all cut up from fighting with that weakling fool?" She smirked, directing her attention to the unconscious man. "He was merely another tool we used. You just got here earlier than planned."
"What are you trying to do?" he demanded. He knew their evil and selfish intents, but what was with targeting specific places?
The nail on her index finger extended along with her black glove. One wondered if the glove was her actual skin, the way it adjusted. She cast a sideways glance at the man she gave the stone to. Jutting the nail forward, she stabbed Robert through the chest and retracted the weapon in one fast and flawless movement. She chuckled. "You'll know soon enough, Boy," she murmured.
Edward knew that he wouldn't be able to fight her and win with the injuries he was suffering. Sure, the guy was an idiot, but he didn't deserve to be used and cast aside so simply! The anger within him rose. "You bitch..." he bit out.
A small squeak that was barely heard came from Rosette, her hurt gray eyes seemingly huge in her white face.
Lust paid him no heed. She turned her sights onto Rosette. "Your scars. They look as if you've lived through the Ishbal War," the homunculus noted with simplicity. "A pleasant pattern, really." Lust was amused while inwardly, she was also ticked off that Edward and his brother foiled her plans once more.
Ed was prepared to battle her even if it meant that he'd risk his life. She had crossed the line.
The redhead shook in place, and tears fell unheeded down her face.
Al stepped in front of Rosette protectively, ready to defend her.
The state alchemist was trembling with both fear and rage. The bitch would pay for what she did. He transmuted his arm back into a blade and assumed a battle stance.
"Stay behind me Rosette." Al said softly, not sure if the redhead would hear him or not.
"I don't have time to battle you," she dismissed. "You're still useful to be kept alive. Besides, your movements will make your blood loss that much greater." Lust glanced down at the ground to look at the growing puddle forming around his body.
Edward followed her eyes to note that she was right. While the cuts weren't that major, the accumulation of no treatment and the multiple injures did add up. "I can try!" he roared, charging at her recklessly. He knew that Al would have objected, but at that time point in time, he thought about nothing but to hurt someone.
Al stayed where he was, worried about Rosette and not wanting to leave her unprotected.
She sighed. She acted as if a fly were buzzing about her. Extending one of her nails, she rammed it through his gut. He froze in place, the nail going out of the other side of the body part. Edward coughed up blood and paled.
"Not listening to reason will cause your death, you know," she pointed out, retracting her nails, leaving him to drop into his own puddle of crimson blood.
Alphonse watched in shock as his brother fell forward. He could do nothing but scream. "EDWARD!"