Chapter 77: New moves V

The building was huge, Jade thought, too huge for her to feel comfortable. She didn't like wide spaces. She preferred it when she could see everything without any troubles. On the other hand, the building was beautiful and she decided that she would mention that fact if anyone would ask her to give her opinion. She didn't need the attention.

"What do you say, Jade?" Olivier asked while they entered the Helena-Hamilton-Orphanage in Central.

Jade had been Helena's, Lynn's, best friend while the silver-haired woman had been alive and Olivier had come to the decision that Jade's opinion should matter. Usually, Jade was a quiet and composed person. She usually never spoke her mind until she got angry or someone asked … and after her latest outburst in her conversation with her aunt, she would go a long time without getting too angry.

"It suits her certainly," Breeze Soul said. "She would have loved it … she liked the grandeur and the fame something like that would have brought her … she was a little bit crazy sometimes…"

Her voice was caring and soft for a moment and the blonde knew that this was the true Jade. The younger woman was no warrior but still she fought because it was necessary … she had understood that the sacrifice of few were necessary for the good of everyone. And still, sometimes she had taken it too far … that was why she was nothing but a hard shell sometimes.

"I understand," Olivier said and understood that Jade might be her only real female friend but that Jade had had other friends before … friends who had died and abandoned her along the way. "I am happy," she added with an afterthought while she started to walk around in the building. "I read files about her and tried to figure out what she would want … and this thing was the best idea I had. She was … well … unique and still, one of her strongest points was obviously her will to help…"

Jade's fingertips touched the beautiful portrait of Lynn on the wall and her face betrayed her sadness. She had tried so hard to forget what had happened. She had told herself that Lynn wouldn't want her to cry … but she felt how tears formed in her eyes. She wiped them angrily away. Jade never cried.

"You miss her, huh?" Olivier asked while she rested on hand on Jade's shoulder.

"She was my best friend," Jade said, "even if I was never big in showing feelings. I … I do care…"

"I know," Olivier said while she dragged her into another room. "And I care too."

"Alright," Rebecca said while she put down the boxes in Roy's office. "I already planned your way to become chancellor, Mustang. Jean and I made some buttons last night and I had Sheska writing your first speech. You will hold it this weekend. I made an appointment with Olivier and she was really happy that you will use her offer. Furthermore: you should start to pack your stuff. The election is in sixty days and it will be hard on all of us – so man up and pack your things before I have to do it!"

Rebecca was annoyed that Roy had told the public that he would run for chancellor three days ago and still hadn't done anything to achieve this goal … because this was basically war out there.

"Aren't you supposed to be planning your wedding?" Riza asked while she leaned against Roy's desk.

"Already finished," her best friend replied. "Jade's dress was the last point on my long, long list."

It was unusual for her to be that fast … but on the other hand, she had dreamt of that day for years.

"Well, good news, Roy," Jean said as he ended his call. "Grandmother travelled to the West for the weekend and tells her old supporting movement that they should support you now."

Everyone in the room knew what that meant. The name Llewellyn … in the Western Area and many other places it still meant progress, democratisation. It meant that things would change … become better … and the people on Roy's office also knew that this meant that every former supporter of Charlotte Llewellyn would support him from now on … and even though her Golden Days had been in the last century, she was still very popular, especially among the movement for the rights of the women and other organisations that wanted more freedom for everyone.

"That … that would be … wonderful…" Roy chocked out while Rebecca used her fingers to calculate how much votes such a move of Charlotte's would bring.

"Don't mention it," the First Lady said. She stood in the door while she carried a red box with her personal items. Other than most soldiers, she preferred to organise everything herself. "You are like a grandson to me after all … and I need Riza to follow me, right?"

"Charlotte, you are amazing!" Rebecca announced while she hugged the older woman.

"Darling, they don't call me the Queen of Awesomeness for no reason."

"You are getting cocky again," her husband said while he stopped behind her. He also carried a box but his was emerald green. "Well, we came to say goodbye. We have a new mission now…"

"Right," Charlotte agreed. "And should you need a babysitter, Riza, give me a call."

She had recovered faster than she had been supposed to and the doctors had been shocked. The old lady hadn't been surprised about this development at all. She had been shot before and she always had recovered fast enough to keep herself from missing a party. She wasn't the kind of woman that would lie in a hospital and read a book while everyone else was having the fun.

"I will call you, Jewel," Riza smiled while she hugged her tightly. "Since you mentioned it: I need to go and pick up the kids … they should have finished their school day already…"

There was a strange line on Victoria's forehead and Riza was confused. Victoria had always been a more-or-less perfect mixture of Kay and Lynn and none of them would have shown her annoyance this way. Kay would have told the world what was annoying her and Lynn would have done the same.

"What happened?" Riza asked while they drove back home. "Vicky, tell me … please."

"Nothing important," the redhead stated while the line grew a little bit.

"She broke Jacqueline Weisman's jaw because the stupid brat insulted daddy," Nick said calmly.

Riza's eyes widened. "You did what?" she asked.

"The stupid brat had it coming, Riza," Victoria muttered. "I never liked her and when she said what she said, I simply saw red and punched her."

"That was awesome, mommy," Laila said cheerfully as always. "Vicky heard the comment, turned around and just punched the brat. I would have aimed for the nose, to be honest, because that would have inflicted a more permanent damage…"

"I will remember it for the next time," the redhead stated nonchalantly.

"Girls, I don't like your violent tendencies at all," Riza sighed as she shook her head at them. "But I believe that it is time that you start a new sport: martial arts. I talked already with Jun Li and she said that she would train you."

Victoria licked her lips. "More time for Laila to adore Cai," she stated.

Chapter 78: Secrets uncovered

"Well, if you really want to, little sister, bring it on," Madame Abigail Mustang-Tempest said with a wide smirk as she looked at her younger sister. "To tell the truth, I was getting bored since I had nothing to do in the last few years since you moved to the West. And we used to have so much fun."

Izumi nodded while she carefully watched the other woman. The thing about Abigail was that one of the few fighters and alchemists Izumi actually never had been able to beat – because her older sister was the one who had taught her. The Mustang-family had always been rich and Abigail had feared that someone could kidnap Izumi to demand money from their parents, so she had trained the girl for years. Abigail was four years older and had way more experience, so Izumi knew what she was up against. Abigail's black hair was held back in a beautiful Cretan braid and she wore a red dress.

"How much is allowed in our little battle?" Izumi asked while she grinned.

"Everything but killing the other one," Abigail said casually. "And if you could refrain from destroying my house, I would be happy too. Should you win, I owe you a favour, no matter what."

"It's mean to rub into my face that I never got you down before," Izumi sighed. "But on the other hand … it has been a while and even the great Abigail Mustang should get rusty at her high age of … what was it? … are you really forty-one by now? Tss … you are getting old."

"Just because we are using alchemy this time around, I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, sister dear," Madame Mustang smirked and her grin was similar to her nephew's.

"Why don't you just give up before I can hurt you, old lady?" Izumi taunted. "Face the facts: forty-one means that you aren't that agile and fast as you used to be, older sister…"

Abigail twirled around and grinned widely. "You see, Izumi, you are not the only one with an extraordinary huge talent for alchemy," she said. "It runs in our family like the dark hair … and I am older than you as you just pointed out and had more time to study, wouldn't you agree?"

"That would be true," Izumi said while she waited for the right moment to transmute something. The problem was that she didn't knew how far Abigail had taken her alchemy by now and since her big sister had always been able to go up against any state alchemist Amestris had ever seen – maybe even against her own children – it was dangerous to underestimate her. It could easily be the last thing she would ever do because of Abigail's high skills.

"When did you get that shy, little sister?" the older one taunted with a wide grin as she escaped the blow directed at her while jumping back. She was still a dangerous woman and Izumi kept telling herself that one day, Abigail's age would finally catch up with her and force her down.

"You know what they say, Abbs: once bitten, twice shy – and you got me more than once."

"Are you afraid that you might lose your fight again?" Jade's and Phil's mother laughed.

"No – I am juts not especially keen on getting another scar, Abby. You tended to be cruel after all, you remember?"

"I know – but that really shouldn't stop you if you really want me to owe you, sister dear."

"I don't care for a favour as much as I care for the way my head is attached to my body, Abigail. And I tell you that I won't use any alchemy before you start it too. I don't trust you when we are training."

"I wouldn't trust me either," she laughed. "It is possible that I manipulated the alchemistic energy beneath us – and if you would use alchemy now, everything would blow up into your pretty face."

"You are good, true, but I somehow doubt that you would go that far just for a little fight, sister."

"True," Abigail shrugged while she barely dodged a blow. "Well, sister, didn't you have a question?"

"Yes, Abigail, I have a question for you: what the hell are you usually doing? I wonder that ever since Jade and Phil didn't need your attention all the time. First I thought that you would be working but even if you would do that, it would never ever cost so much time. Your research is over since many years, so you can't be doing this either. Since I am a housewife myself, I can also be sure that you aren't doing chores around the house…" Izumi wiped away a hint of sweat on her forehead as she avoided another blow. "So … what are you doing all the time? You aren't secretly a state alchemist, are you?"

Abigail smiled innocently before she stepped back a little bit and folded her hands in front of her stomach. "You really didn't get it?" she asked, slightly disappointed before she inhaled deeply. "I give you a hint. 'And even though Luca had always loved Lena, he had known that fate was not kind enough to let them be happy together.' That's the hint – go and figure it out, sister."

Izumi stopped for a second and before she could defend herself, her sister had knocked her to the ground. "That was mean, Abigail!" the housewife complained. "You distracted me!"

"That means that you didn't worked hard enough on yourself," Abigail stated. "Get up, we need to get you back in form. Honestly, if I had been a real opponent, you were dead."

"Yes, Mrs Author," Izumi muttered. "Honestly – you wrote the books? The whole An Eternal Love story?"

"I am really surprised that you didn't figure it out earlier," Abigail muttered while she stretched her long legs. "I mean … you knew my way to write and to tell stories since you were born!"

"You always seemed too rational to be a novelist!" Izumi complained. "But honestly, how could you murder Carina? She was the best character you ever created and you killed her! The death wasn't even fitting for her! She was stabbed from behind after so many years … and you were even cowardly enough to kill her on the last page! She died in vain, sister!"

"Stop telling me how I have to write my books, Iz," Abigail hissed, "and really, if you had followed the press, you would know that I am working on a new part. I know that it was supposed a trilogy but I feel that I left too many questions unanswered!"

"But you still murdered Carina! She would have made it out alive if the stupid bitch Ardelia wouldn't have stabbed her from behind!" Izumi said enraged.

"Darling … when was Ardelia ever capable of killing someone that strong that easily, hum?"

"…perfect!" Olivier exclaimed as she put down her brush and looked around in the room she had just finished. She had taken a day off, knowing that Bendix could handle the things at work, and started to prepare the room for the baby. It had taken the whole day so far and now she was covered in paint and she was quite happy with the outcome. The walls were painted in light blue while the ceiling was white and the baby cradle had the same colours.

"Hey, princess," Bendix said while he hugged her from behind, definitively not caring about any stains of paint on his perfect uniform. "You did a wonderful job here, so I was wondering if you want to go out for diner today. I would cook you something but I am a little bit tired. Mama had me running so many errands today that I had to skip lunch."

"Poor Benny," she said as she gently ruffled his hair. "Well, we can go out for dinner. I feel selfish that you are always doing the work by now while I am so … so useless…"

He sighed inwardly before he kissed her sweetly. "You aren't useless, Liv," he said. "You are amazing. And now – get ready, take a shower and dress fine, alright? We are going out tonight."

"You really think that I am not useless?"

"Stop thinking that way," he said gently. "You are too important to be useless, princess."

Jun Li felt how the hard work of the previous months finally caught up with her and while she cleaned the living room, she decided to take a little break. She sat down on the couch before she fell asleep. She rolled up like a little cat and rested her head on her hands. She looked quite adorable, like a child.

"Jun-Jun?" Cai asked while he entered the living room where suddenly nothing moved any longer. He had been practicing the chi-detection and had used her as a target when she suddenly had stopped to move around. So he had decided to check on her.

"She is resting, Cai," his grandfather said while he fondly looked down at the fragile woman on the couch. He crossed to her and carefully picked her up. "Could you please open the door to my bedroom for me, Cai? Her own room is much too hot for her to rest there at the moment."

"Of course, grandfather!" the boy skipped over and the old man who was still very fit for his age carried the small woman into the room before he gently placed her on the bed before he brushed back some strands of her dark hair before he took a light cover to place it over her tiny body. Jun Li wasn't tall or exceptionally muscular but she was fast and agile – two traits that had kept them both alive for so many years. He sat down next to her and gently caressed her head. She was strong, in her own way. She wasn't as powerful as her father had used to be but she was especially smart and her sharp mind had them often prevented from getting in trouble. He spotted the faint gleam of gold in her collar and took the necklace into his hand. He remembered the day he had given it to her. She had just recovered from an illness that had barely failed to take her life and he had been so happy when she had returned to her duty. She had been incredibly pale and he had made a point out of avoiding trouble as far as possible because she could have gotten injured and then she would have died.

"Damn you and your stubbornness, Jun Li," he whispered into her ear even though he knew that she couldn't hear it. "If you need a break, just take it. You don't have to ask me for every single step you take, Jun Li. Just on case that you still didn't get it: we are equals now … and to tell the truth: even back in Xing I never considered you as a servant. You are my friend, my one and only friend!"

She still slept ever so peacefully.

Victoria glared at him and Cai knew that he had missed the right moment to run for his life.

"You … you just told me casually that you ate my last lemon?" the redhead asked. The secret behind her health and her awesome concentration when she worked for school was that she ate lemons without anything else and she got easily annoyed when someone else ate her holy lemons.

"I am sorry, Vicky, but I wanted to make lemonade!" he said as he walked backwards.

"And I needed to repeat the whole sixth century in Creta for History! You messed up my plan!"

"I already said that I am terribly sorry!" he said. "Please – don't punch me, Victoria!"

"Vicky…" Laila appeared behind her with a dark expression on her face. "Do not punch Cai."

"He ate my lemons."

"How can you even eat them? They are … sour."

"Easily, big sister: I peel them, open my mouth and chew. No big deal."