Chapter 87: Chancellor
Roy grabbed Riza's hand and bit his lower lip while he waited for the result. If he had failed, he had no idea how to explain it to the others. They had all trusted him to get it right this time around … and some of his best friends had died along the way. Yes, they had died because they had known too much about the fact that something was wrong and that the homunculi were plotting something but they would never have researched these dangerous things if it hadn't been for him. In a way, he had killed all of them. Serena, the sweet and silent musician … Lynn, the one who had been mean to the ones she had loved the most … Martin, the goofy man with the incredible memory … Charles, the optimist who had always smiled in spite of the situation … and Kay, the one who had been one of the best alchemists he had ever met. If he would have become chancellor, he would have failed them worse than the ones who had made it – miraculously – out alive … even though it had been pure luck sometimes.
Charlotte's hand wrapped itself around her husband's wrist while the former first lady stared at the man in the doorway. She had been the one who had revived her father's plan of a democracy and she would never be able to look into the mirror if her plan to make her grandson-in-law chancellor had failed. She had opened the way for this election by convincing her husband to give up his post and if she had done this for nothing, she would throw a fit – and being a former first daughter, she was very talented at throwing a fit. Being a stubborn little girl had been part of her act for years after all.
Abigail, Izumi and Jade sat on a couch and the three strongest female alchemists of Amestris looked like they would kill Roy if he had failed since they had all counted on him. Abigail couldn't allow her nephew to soil her twin brother's memory, Izumi was still unhappy about Roy's decision to become a state alchemist (especially since she blamed him of luring Jade, Phil and Edward into the same trap) and Jade simply expected her cousin to be always the best in everything, so she basically couldn't allow him to fail at anything … especially since he had promised her a better office than her current one.
Edward inwardly hoped that Roy hadn't made it because he had forgotten the 520 cenz he owed the Flame Alchemist at home and he didn't want to look unprepared … because he didn't want his two Teachers or his superior to tell him off for forgetting something that important.
Jun Li on the other hand hoped that her best customer had made it because her old master had already painted the sign 'The chancellor's favourite restaurant' for the Golden Dragon I. and furthermore, Roy Mustang would make sure that the ties between Amestris and Xing would stay on this good level.
Cai was sure that his future father-in-law (because he would so marry Laila later on in his life) had won the election because he was Laila's father – and that made him awesome by default … and his big brother had told him that awesomeness was an important quality of a good leader.
Victoria, however, was probably one of the few who happened to know the result before the man could say anything because she had made a very important realisation: all the other candidates were dumb and – according to her – very ugly. She had also realised that the whole North still supported Olivier's decisions because they were grateful for her former protection while her adoptive father was still a hero in the Eastern regions … and furthermore: Roy Mustang was the only one of the candidates who had had the support of such a huge family because somehow, he was related through the marriages of the last few years to nearly all the influential families of Amestris.
Edward carefully tapped Jade's shoulder as he realised that his former superior had most likely won the election. "Do you have 520 cenz with you?" he asked under his breath.
She rolled her eyes. "I never leave the house without money," she said before she handed him 600 cenz. "Do whatever you want to do with it. 600 cenz more or less doesn't make me a poor woman."
He checked the serial numbers and a wide grin appeared on his face before he showed them to his brother. "Look at this, Al," he said. "Soul gave me exactly the same coins her cousin gave me before!"
Alphonse raised one eyebrow. "Do you think she knows about the deal?" he asked while he looked at the dark-haired woman who was currently intimidating the waitress who had flirted with Claudio.
"She has a way of knowing basically everything – exactly like Teacher," Edward said. "It's scary."
The man in the doorway cleared his throat. "I congratulate you, Mr Mustang, to becoming chancellor," he said plainly and wanted to say something more but it drowned among the cheering of the Pro-Roy -Mustang-party. Jade squealed in such a high-pitched voice that Edward realised two things. First: whoever had sat next to Jade had probably gotten deaf. And secondly: she would have a sore throat the next day from all her squealing and yelling.
Not that he cared, of course.
Roy gulped slowly while he got up and ran one hair through his hair before he found himself tackled by nine children: Laila, Cai, Victoria, Nick, Elicia, Helena, Rachel, Frederic and Gregor (but the four youngest just followed the example of their older siblings.) "Jun Li, take them off!" he exclaimed from underneath the kids. "Please – they are breaking my ribs and I can't breathe with them on my chest! I beg you!" he yelled. Usually, he would have asked Jade to free him but since her ribs were still broken, it wouldn't be the best idea ever and would just get him into trouble with Phil and Abigail.
The Xingese woman sighed deeply before she grabbed Cai's ankles and pulled him away from the newly-elected chancellor of Amestris before she softly reprimanded him in her own language. As soon as he looked guilty, she handed him over to Lei who had become her shadow once more and repeated the action with the rest of the children before she helped Roy up.
"Thank you, Jun Li," he said with a bow before he headed over to his wife who hadn't been able to help him because she had been hugged by Winry, Rebecca and Mei who hadn't let go of her.
"Congratulation, Mustang," Olivier said with a half smile which was more than he usually got from her.
"Thank you, Armstrong," he said with a bow of his head.
"Technically, it's Armstrong-Llewellyn," she said sweetly while he patted his head. "And don't forget who held the speech that pushed your popularity to unknown levels, yes?"
"How could I ever forget your speech?" he asked with a smirk. "Well, thanks for everything."
She rolled her eyes. "Even though I still think that Riza could do much better: you are somehow a part of my family," she said before she shuddered. "Well, good job, Mustang."
Edward grinned widely at Roy as he held out the money. "You really did it," he said. "Here, your money … you should buy some chocolate for your kids from it. And well, now I owe Soul 600 cenz…"
"Oh, if you want to blackmail her too…" Roy winked at the younger alchemist. "Her dream is to be able to erase the scars from her body … just to give you some inspiration…"
The blonde chuckled while he looked at the female state alchemist who wore her usual black clothes with a jade green ribbon in her hair then he looked back at Roy. "Why is she always wearing black or green when she isn't on duty?" he asked. "It's not extremely surprising to see her in black…"
"The last one who asked her ended up in hospital and nearly died from suffocation," Roy warned. "I am sure that she has her reasons but I will never ask."
Riza finally reached him and hugged him tightly. "You made it…" she whispered. "You really made it…"
"We made it," he corrected her softly. "We made really it."
"I really don't want to disturb you," Olivier said slowly, "but you will have to hold a speech."
"She's right," Jade said while she fixed her ribbon once more. Her dark hair was growing out once more and nearly brushed her fragile shoulders. No one ever got the reason for her strange behaviour. She let her hair grow until it reached her hip before she would cut it drastically after a strange incident. She had never explained why she did this but Roy had noticed that she was calmer with short hair and not so aggressive than with long hair.
"It's true," Riza agreed. "Well, let's go, Roy."
Edward noticed the shadow before anyone else could see it and gently tapped Nerissa's tense shoulder. The blond alchemist who excelled in Water Alchemy and some other things looked down at him with a frown. "What's the matter?" she asked lowly.
"I believe I saw someone," he said. "No regular uniform … but he carried a rifle…"
She sighed deeply. "You are honestly bad news, Elric," she said. "Well, Roy will forgive us when we ditch his speech to dispose an assassin. And after all: it wouldn't be good for his career when someone kills him today, right?" she headed towards the next door. "And we are way too awe-inspiring to allow some crazy lunatic to murder the chancellor today, right?"
"For a former lunatic, you are making surely a lot of sense," Edward said with a grin. "Well, when we can't allow it, we should hurry up a little bit and get back in time for the dinner the stuff of The Golden Dragon is cooking right now. It would be a sin to miss out the chop suey!"
She laughed softly as her hair flew around her head in the cold night air. "It feels great to be back," she said as she looked over the town. "Central isn't the most beautiful city, that would be Lionnenburg in the West, but the capital is always worth the way … especially at night…"
The assassin had his rifle directed at Roy Mustang and was about to pull the trigger when a somewhat short blond-haired man and a much taller but also blond woman appeared … and they didn't look like they had come for a polite conversation. The woman held up an icicle and glared dangerously at him while the man had crossed his arms.
"Put the rifle down before we have to hurt you," the man said.
"Just two weak Amestrians against me who survived the slaughter of my people?" the man asked.
"Don't underestimate us," the woman said with a devilish smile. "The last ones who messed with us are still in hospital … and even though you may have survived Ishbal through your luck, well, if you fight us, you will see why my sisters feared me more than anyone else … and I heard that most people feared Kay." She raised her head and her bangs fell back to uncover her face. "So … if you dare, bring it on. I will even step back from using alchemy to make it fairer…"
She could afford to play it fair because she had trained under Catherina D'Artagan for years and that woman was a gifted fighter even without her alchemy.
The Ishbalan stared at her before he exhaled. "Well, considering your arrogance, I am really surprised that you didn't get yourself killed yet," he said while he aimed his rifle at her. "And the only reason why it makes sense for you to mention sisters would be that you are related to the Hamilton-sisters…"
"I am the oldest one … and the only one who is still standing," she said while she took a kunai from her pocket. "You can always surrender now before we beat you up … and we just got back to work."
The blond boy next to her nodded seriously. "Nessa just returned from beating up a group of special agents from Creta," he said, "and as you can see, she didn't get injured. And she is always strong."
"I'll see a fight in which a little girl like her defeats me, boy," the assassin said. "She has no gun."
"Because I am no coward," she said with a sweet smile. "Bring it on, will you?"
Hardly anyone was stupid enough to attack her but this guy was different and she had to avoid a first bullet. She moved faster than usually but she wasn't fast enough as the assassin was able to grab her hair and hold her down while he looked for a way to get Edward down to. The Fullmetal Alchemist, however, was a little bit more worried for his comrade who would have a terrible headache the next day. He was about to attack openly when Nerissa shook her head a little bit.
"Why not?" he asked as he stopped his steps and watched her unhappily.
She smirked while she raised the hand with the knife to her head. "Easiest rule," she said calmly while the blade got closer and closer to the place where the man held her down. "I got myself in trouble, so I get myself out of trouble too. You can't endanger yourself." With these wise words, she cut off a good deal of her hair and jumped away. "The long hair was getting on my nerves anyway," she stated.
Edward shook his head at her usual casualness and pulled her out of the way. "Alright, what do you suggest, Master of Disaster?" he asked with a wide grin.
Her sapphire eyes widened and she freed herself from his grasp before she pushed him away from her. He looked up and saw how she held her shoulder while blood covered her hands. On the floor, next to her feet, lay a knife that had obviously stuck in her flesh seconds before. She looked down but her anger radiated from her like the light from the sun. Her mutilated hair barely touched her chest, unlike the former golden locks that had touched her hip. She glared at the man before she looked at Edward and exhaled deeply. "Do whatever you have to do but don't kill him if you can avoid it. The last thing Roy can need is a state alchemist murdering a member of an ethnic minority."
Edward nodded before he gracefully avoided the blow that came for him and kicked with his automail-leg. "But why did you take the blow for me?" he asked, knowing that the knife hadn't been aimed at her but at him. "Did you forget how mean I was to you? It's crazy that you risk your health for me!"
She rolled her eyes while she slowly sat down and leaned against a wall. "I am the insane one, did you forget?" she chuckled weakly. "Well, if you lose and my sacrifice is in vain, I murder you personally."
"Understood," he said and his next attack knocked the man out cold. "How was that, Hamilton?"
She rolled her eyes. Tie him up, I will bring him to Ishbal in the morning," she said. "I can't imagine that the people there will be happy about this."
Riza frowned at Nerissa when the older women finally entered the restaurant where everyone else was already enjoying the party. The blonde's previously neat blue dress with the golden flower on the side was a little bit dirty and torn. A white bandage covered the alchemist's shoulder and her once perfectly styled golden mane was shaggy and a good deal shorter than before. The chancellor's wife dragged her cousin away from the party and glared up at her. "What the hell happened?" she hissed.
"Elric and I got in a little argument with a stupid assassin who tried to kill your darling," the former lunatic said while she rubbed her aching shoulder. "Well, we taught the guy that no one messes with us and gets away unpunished…" She looked at the formerly dark city with a certain distance. Central City wasn't silent and peaceful any longer – not since the people had heard of the result of the election. "I'll have to deliver a package to Ishbal in the morning," she added while she tapped her chin before she raised one of her pale eyebrows. "Don't worry, Riza," she smiled. "We didn't kill that person … but I believe that he will think twice the next time before he messes with one of us…"
"Just try not to get in trouble, yes?" Riza gently touched her cousin's shoulder. "No one of us wants you to have to go back to the hospital, Nessa … and I can imagine that your sisters would yell at me if I would allow something like that. We know that you mean no harm … but even though we kept the whole issue under the wraps so far, some people out there know about your … little problem…"
Nerissa just smiled at her as she patted Riza's hand. "Believe me, no one knows the risks better than me," she said calmly. "And regarding my problem … during the therapy, I got to accept a lot of things that were bothering me since many years." She sighed. "I am sorry for worrying and scaring all of you so much, Riza, but I can hardly remember anything from that time. It's like … I was someone else … a person I never wanted to be … a person no one ever wanted to become…"
"I never thought that I would say that, Nessa, but … you are really alright," Riza said with a smile. "Well, I need to go and keep Roy and Jean from drinking themselves into pure dumbness…"
Her cousin chuckled while she licked her lips. "I could always remove the alcohol from the wine," she said with a smirk that could have rivalled Kay's when the redhead had been up to something.
Riza froze before she looked at the stars above them. "Do you think they would have been here … if they had been able too?" she asked while she wrapped her scarf closer around her shoulders.
"I can hardly remember them…" Nerissa said softly. "…but if they were really Roy's friends, they would have stood in the first row … and I can imagine that Lynn would have punched everyone who would have dared to vote for someone else than Roy … she was like that … looking innocent but being evil inside…" She sighed deeply. "Stupid little girl," she said with a fond little smile on her face.
"If someone would have told me some years ago that we would speak like that without trying to kill each other, I would have believed the person was insane," Riza admitted. "You always seemed … so far away from everything … so much better than all of us together … you excelled at everything…"
Nerissa sighed deeply as she gazed at the stars. "The ones who lost their twins are still standing strong while the rest fell down," she stated with a dark smile around her lips. "No, I won't complain that I am still alive even though there were times when I wished that I would drop dead. To know that I am the last one out of four who survived even with the catastrophic odds I had … it's insane if you ask me."
Riza smiled at her. "You would know about insanity, wouldn't you?" she asked with a wink. "No, we really shouldn't talk about the past. I believe that they wouldn't have wanted us to think of them when we should celebrate. They left us gifts, wonderful … precious gifts … they allowed us to make it out alive … we didn't kill you when you kidnapped Laila because I knew that Kay would never have forgiven me if we would kill someone who had been created by her … she always blamed herself for everything what happened to you … claimed that she was responsible for what became of you…"
Nerissa shook her head while she sighed once more. She suddenly realised that she kept sighing that night. "Stupid younger sister," she muttered while she ran one hand through her shaggy hair. "Well, every single one of us has this little crack, right? And self-hatred is the one we share…"
Riza nodded. "How did you feel when the doctors finally released you?" she asked while they sat down on the outside. Roy, Jean and the wine were forgotten for a moment, put aside for a little talk between the both last remaining cousins, the last ones who had been left from the original five Hawkeye-girls.
Nerissa shrugged while she rested her head against the rough wall behind her. "Like I was born again," she finally said. "I never thought that I would get a second chance, a second trial to get my life back on track … but when they offered me the chance … I felt for a moment like I was stepping back into the light." She wiped away a stray tear. "It's too bad that I realised too late that family is something I started to appreciate than I had nearly nothing left of it."
Riza patted her shoulder. "I am still there," she said calmly. "And just so you know: Kay always knew that you would come around one day. And since she was always forgiving, I believe that you should stop hating yourself. Life is too short for any regrets."
Nerissa chuckled weakly before she pointed her finger at Roy . "Go and play with your husband, Riza," she said. "I stay a little bit outside … it's too hot for me inside, you know?"
The younger blonde patted her head. "You can come inside if you want to," she said calmly.
Nerissa smiled at her. "No, I believe that I am going home," she said while she got up. "This night belongs to the new chancellor … and not my new hairstyle. I will go to bed. It's late for me."
It was Edward who caught up with the older blond woman when she was leaving. He ran after her for some minutes before he grabbed her upper arm, momentarily forgetting her injury. She winced in pain and he released her. "I am sorry," he said while they sat down on a close bench. "Why are you leaving? The party barely begun and I would have guessed that you could enjoy it."
"Not with an injured shoulder," she said and wrapped her good arm around her legs. "How are you?"
"I wasn't stabbed by some lunatic," he said as he leaned back. "I have to compliment you … not everyone would recover that fast. What kind of painkiller did they give you?"
"The ones that make you see funny things," she said with a shrug. "And I keep ignoring a good deal of the pain because it doesn't fit me to complain about a simple injury like that."
He laughed. "You are heading eastwards tomorrow, right?" he asked. "To deliver the package to the elders there … why didn't we bring him to a usual prison? It would have been easier…"
"The last thing the Pro-Ishbal-Politic needs at the moment is an Ishbalan prisoner who wanted to assassinate the new chancellor," she said. "And I am sure that his elders will have a neat and clean solution for the problem. No one but the two of us and Riza will ever know about it. It will be like it never happened and no one will ever suspect that there was some kind of incident."
He nodded slowly. "Why didn't you kill him when you had the chance? It would have prevented your injury and your hair would be still longer…" he said while he looked at her.
She smiled at her knees. "It's hardly my place to judge who deserves to live and who can die," she said as she looked up, "and my hair will grow again. The injury on my shoulder will be nothing but a scar in some weeks and eventually, it will fade. If I had killed him, the blood would have never faded … and it could have easily started another war, you know?"