A/N: Theme number six - Holiday. I made it uber long to make up for the short ones before. I'm sorry it took such a long time. End of the school year=finals. Projects. Stuff Dx

Enjoy.

Holidays in Xing were rare, with an average of a couple each year. When they did take place, the country made a big show of it. The festivities were massive, and not a single person missed out on them. Traditionally, the emperor, his wives, and all of his children would also be carried in litters around the palace for the whole country to see. Even the princesses and princes of the lowest clans participated in the royal parade. Delicacies and delicious food was served, firecrackers were set off, and people danced to music. The citizens dressed up and wore their best traditional Xingese clothes. Holidays in Xing were full of excitement and happiness.

And on those days, Lan Fan didn't have a job.

The personal guards were usually dismissed for a day on festivals. The only ones surrounding the royal bloodline were the servants that aided them and an elite force of guards that had the emperor's personal trust. Anyone else was cut off, even the personal guards. Like her.

When she had been younger, she had seen the festival with her grandfather, and hadn't minded that she hadn't been able to be near her prince. Now at fourteen, she hated every moment that she was away from him. But Lan Fan couldn't do anything about it, since tradition was tradition. It could not be changed.

Fu had refused to let her accompany him to the festival like she had when she had been a small child. "A young lady like you should be enjoying these things without her grandfather accompanying her," he had said, surprising her. Most of the time he reminded her that she was a guard and could not stray from her duty. "Even though you are a guard of the Yao Clan, you are also a woman. You do not need to be ashamed of that. You should spend your time with the young ladies of the village, not with an old man like me." He had then given her a dress and had insisted that she wear it for the upcoming holiday.

Lan Fan had agreed, of course. How could she say no to her grandfather? But as she walked the streets of Xing in her silks, she felt oddly out of place. Despite what Fu thought, all of the women in the village disliked Lan Fan. No matter how quiet they tried to talk, she had heard their gossiping mouths before, about how unwomanly she was and that she would never grow up to become a filial wife. How Lan Fan was a failure at everything except being a murderer.

She hadn't cared back then. But now, as she wove her way through the crowd, Lan Fan felt more alone than ever. She wished for a single companion, even if the companion was a loud-mouthed girl who didn't even know how to hold a kunai properly.

The shouts and cries of dancing people sounded loudly in her ears, making her head hurt. Lan Fan slipped through two food stalls and headed away from the mass of people. Within moments the loud music and voices had faded into faint murmurs.

She stopped, and checked her surroundings. Judging by the sound of the festivities and the qi coming from the village, she was probably half a mile away from the main street. There was nobody near Lan Fan at all. She was completely alone.

But somehow she felt better than she had when she had been on the street. It was quieter here, and she liked it. Noise had never suited her, anyway. She closed her eyes, and leaned against a tree. Nobody would miss her. It wasn't like she was important.

A gong sounded. The royal parade must have started. But Lan Fan didn't care, didn't move an inch. The parade meant nothing to her. It held no meaning for her.

She couldn't wait until the day was over and she could go back to doing what she was used to doing. When she could go back to being close to Ling again and knowing where he was.

Something pricked at her senses. There was a source of qi drawing close to her. It was human, but she wasn't able to identify it among all of the other human qi surrounding her.

Either way, she had no way of knowing whether it was friend or foe.

But she couldn't risk it. Lan Fan grabbed the kunai strapped to her leg and hurled it in the qi's general direction. There was a distant thump, as if it had hit a tree. And then there was a wince. A very familiar wince.

"Geez, you think your paranoia would lessen on a day like this, but no. I almost wish you would. It makes me feel like I'm the reason why you don't know how to have any fun."
"Y-Young Master!"

Ling stepped out, cheerfully tapping the tree Lan Fan had just been leaning against. He tossed the kunai that she had just thrown back into her hands. "Yup. Hi, Lan Fan."

She had no idea what to say, until she realized that the royal parade was going on and he was standing right in front of her. "Ah! Young Master, shouldn't you be at the parade? People will notice if you're missing!"

"What, the parade? I ditched it. Too boring. There's probably some servant looking for me right now. I bet they're checking the food stalls though; they won't think of here."

Lan Fan resisted an urge to bang her head against a tree. Instead, she slipped her kunai back into the strap on her leg.

"But you know, I'd rather be here than pigging out at the food stalls. I'd rather be with you, you know. I missed you." He frowned for a moment. "Is that dress new?"

"Um…well, yes." She turned to face away from him, slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm not dressed properly today—"

"No, it's fine." Ling stepped forward and took hold of her arm, the white silk cool and slippery between his fingers. "I actually…I actually like it a lot. It looks really good on you, Lan Fan. It really does."

"T…thank you." She expected him to let go, but Ling still held onto her arm. He spoke again. "There's something missing, though…"

"What?"
He reached up and pulled the strip of cloth that kept her hair up into a tight bun; it gave way and her black tresses fell down in a thick screen. They were as soft and smooth as the silk that made up Lan Fan's dress. She twisted her head, feeling the unfamiliar lightness. "What did you—"

"Much better." Ling held a lock of her now loose black hair between his fingers. "You look beautiful. Like a princess."

Her face felt as warm as a roaring fire. "I, I'm not," she stammered. "Compared to the other woman in the village…and the real princesses…my dress is plain and I don't have anything in my hair…"

"Who said that they were good-looking?" Ling let go of her hair. "They might think they look pretty, but with that amount of jewelry and makeup they look like ghosts. I like the simplicity of your hair and dress. It suits you."

"I…" But she was cut off by a boom and an explosion of light. Ling looked up, and his face became full of rapture. "Lan Fan! Look! Fireworks! Aren't they pretty?"

A blast of swirling blue and pink lit up Ling's face. Lan Fan couldn't help but smile. "Yes," she said. "They're lovely."

They stood together, watching the fireworks. It was so calm, and Lan Fan couldn't help but feel a little bit happy. If only the moment would last forever—

"Young Master! Twelfth prince of Xing Ling Yao! Where have you been? We were looking all over for you! We couldn't find you during the parade, and so many people were upset—"

Ling swore underneath his breath. "I didn't think those servants would find me that quickly! Lan Fan, come on!" He grabbed her hand and began to run away from the (breathless and angry) servant, taking Lan Fan with him. She sprinted after him, nearly tripping in her long dress. "Ling!" she cried, realizing her mistake too late.

He gave her one of his trademark grins, before running faster. "Lan Fan, come on!" he shouted. She could only momentarily shake her head before running faster to keep her hand from being pulled out of his.

Maybe holidays weren't so bad after all.

Words: 1,451

Additional Notes: "Qi" is...well, it's how Lan Fan and Ling are able to sense homunculi. In Chinese, "qi" is literally "steam" or rather, breath. It is spelled "ki" in Japanese, but "qi" in Chinese. I chose the Chinese way because Xing is basically China in FMA.

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