First Entry, April 10
It was such a small town that if the train hadn't stopped, he might have blinked and missed it as they passed by.
But maybe that's a good thing, Roy Mustang thought, since I'm not exactly sure where I'm supposed to go. If there aren't very many people living 'round here, then surely they all know each other…maybe one of them can give me directions?
Fumbling with his small suitcase, the teenager asked an elderly woman waiting on the platform if she happened to know where Berthold Hawkeye lived. She did, and kindly gave him detailed instructions for how to find the house, even referring to a particular flock of sheep as a landmark. Roy swallowed his laughter and made a mental note to mention it in his first letter to his "sisters."
I guess I'm really not in the city anymore, huh? he thought, as the woman said goodbye and wished him luck with a pitying kind of look like she assumed Roy wouldn't survive the week. So all the rumors about Master Hawkeye being a demanding teacher must be true…But I'm going to try my very best, and learn everything that I can from him for as long as he'll have me! Roy vowed, fire in his eyes.
It was rather late in the afternoon, so the sun had nearly set by the time he'd walked to the house on the outskirts of the town. The place was enormous, and Roy could see that it must have been grand once. Now, however, it seemed faded and shabby—all peeling paint and missing roof shingles, with dark empty windows frowning down at him. He later learned that the windows were kept covered by heavy velvet curtains, to ensure the inmates of the house privacy.
The front yard looked as though it hadn't been tended to in years. The plants were all growing wild and unchecked, which lent them a certain kind of melancholy beauty in the dusky twilight. Awed in spite of himself, Roy picked his way through the weeds and wild grasses that had once been a lush lawn and knocked resolutely on the door.
From what his aunt had told him, Roy assumed that the reclusive Berthold Hawkeye wasn't the type of man to keep a hired servant. He was surprised, then, when a young woman (girl, really, nearer his own age) opened the door. For a split second, he wondered whether he'd mistaken the directions after all and ended up at the wrong house. But then the girl welcomed him in a soft voice, and introduced herself as Miss Hawkeye. Roy decided she must be related to his teacher in some way. Remembering his aunt's caution to all of her girls about keeping their mouths shut and their eyes open, Roy simply smiled at her and asked for Master Hawkeye.
Roy was politely instructed to wait in the hall, which enabled him to get a good look around the room without being obvious about it. He noticed immediately that while the outside of the house was ill-kempt, someone took very good care of the interior. The hardwood floors were polished to a soft shine, and although the Xingese rugs were somewhat worn, they had obviously been very expensive when new. Turning slowly on the spot, Roy committed all of his impressions to memory.
Later that evening, he settled down at the small desk in his room to begin his first letter.
"Dear Auntie Chris, Ada, Juliet, Sophie, Elinor, Veronica, Claire, Lucy and Violet,
Auntie said I should be as detailed as possible so that you girls can get an accurate idea of what it's like here, so I'll start at the very beginning.
I arrived late in the afternoon. I'd say it's a small town, but in terms of area it's quite large-only the downtown section (where the train station and shops and things are) is much, much smaller than home. But it's all farmland out here, so the population is pretty well spread out. Almost all the houses are surrounded by fields and trees and things, and very few people even live in the town proper (besides the doctor and the postmistress).
In fact, I hardly saw anyone the whole walk to Master Hawkeye's house, which is a good four or five miles from the center of town. He lives in an enormous house at the northern edge of town, right up against the woods. You can tell it was a really beautiful house once, even if it is falling apart some now. I don't think anyone has mowed the yard in years; it's all growing wild. If I didn't know any better, I'd have walked past it and assumed it was an old, abandoned farm.
When I knocked, a girl about my age opened the door and introduced herself as Miss Hawkeye. I don't know what her relationship to sensei is, but I suppose she must be some kind of dependent relative of his. Since it might not be very polite to ask her, I just introduced myself and asked for Master Hawkeye. She left me alone in the hall while she went to find him, so I got to check out the room without worrying about being rude.
Although it looks pretty shabby outside, the inside of the house is still really nice. You girls would love this place—it's got hardwood flooring, with plush carpets in the bedrooms, and big floor-to-ceiling windows. All of the furniture seems to be either leather or ornately carved wood. And everything is really neat and clean and well taken care of, unlike the outside and the yard. So I wonder whether the rumors of his "delicate financial situation" are exaggerated…he certainly seems to be able to afford a decent housekeeper, even if there is no gardener. Maybe he likes people to believe he's less well-off than he is?
When Master Hawkeye finally came downstairs, he stopped a few feet away and looked me over. Ada would've screamed at the sight of him. He's a bit intimidating, I guess: really tall and thin, with longish pale blonde hair, a hooked nose, hollow cheeks, and deep-set dark blue eyes. He kind of reminded me of a scarecrow, except for those eyes—they're really intense and unexpected. Like…like two live coals glowing in the middle of a pile of ashes.
As nerve-wracking as it was to have him towering over me like that, though, Hawkeye-sensei spoke very politely to me.
After I'd greeted him and thanked him for accepting me as a trial pupil, he showed me all around the house. Besides the one that will be mine while I stay here, there are two other guest bedrooms upstairs, as well as the master suite (where sensei sleeps), Miss Hawkeye's room, and two bathrooms. Sensei has a private bathroom in his master suite, and Miss Hawkeye's things are in the one across the hall from her room, so it looks like I'll have the one next to my bedroom all to myself.
Downstairs there's a formal dining room next to an enormous kitchen, a library that he uses as a study, a living room and a sort of parlor that looks like it was once his wife's sitting room—with chintz armchairs and a sewing basket and some lacy white curtains. Sensei informed me that Miss Hawkeye usually prepares all the meals, but that I can help myself to whatever is in the kitchen at any time, since he doesn't really follow a regular schedule for his own meals.
As he was explaining this, the girl came into the room behind us. But she just stood there quietly, without calling any attention to herself, until he noticed her and asked her what she needed. He called her "Riza," so that must be her first name. Miss Riza Hawkeye told sensei that his dinner was ready, and that she'd left it in his room. I got the impression that sensei usually eats alone in his own room, so when she turned to me, and asked whether I'd prefer to eat my meals in the kitchen or in my room, I said I'd just eat in the kitchen. I figured at least I'd have Miss Hawkeye for company. Anyway, she disappeared after that, and Master Hawkeye told me to go get my things settled in.
Sensei said I could do as I liked until we met tomorrow morning for our first lesson, and that so long as I didn't disturb him or Miss Riza, I'm free to go anywhere on his grounds and into any other room in the house besides the basement (which is his private lab that he keeps locked). He emphasized the part about not bothering Miss Riza, which I thought was a little odd. I suppose the last student annoyed her somehow.
When he took himself off to his room (to his dinner, I suppose), I stopped off in my room to put my things away, and then headed down to the kitchen. Food had been left out for me, and the table was set for only one place, so I guess I'll be eating alone after all. Miss Hawkeye sure is a good cook, even if she's not very friendly. Her curry is almost as good as Juliet's!"
A.N. Thank you for your feedback, everyone! (Especially Baxter54132, Sweetdeath04, and ssadropout-without your encouraging words, I would not have continued this fic). A special thanks also to my guest reviewer, whom I am unable to thank individually :D
As always, constructive criticism is very welcome, even if it's only "your paragraphs are too long," or "you need to work on your dialogue." Do please continue to let me know your thoughts, and thank you very much for reading!
xoxo Janieshi