I know, I know. This chapter is abysmally late. I'm sorry! I've been pretty sick lately, but that's no excuse, because I had plenty of time to get the chapter sorted before I got sick and I didn't. I could write you a whole list of reasons why this is so late- but I'm quite sure you're not interested, so I'll just say that I am really, really sorry. I hope you all had a great christmas and new year!

I own nothing.

Chapter Six: the Professor's Wife

"So," Roy began. "Trisha Elric."

"What we know so far isn't really that useful," frowned Riza. "Her maiden name was Douglas, known family... her parents and a twin sister. According to the locals, she was a friendly and very kind woman, never snobbish and always very generous."

"Not very relevant." sighed Maes.

Riza shook her head. "I'm afraid not. However... there is the night she died."

"Hm?"

"That night was the first time anybody had ever heard of the Elric brothers. Trisha Elric came running into the village begging for help, and then all of she 'Pulled away from Dr. Rockbell and ran up to mansion again, calling out for her boys.'" Riza quoted in a clipped, professional tone.

Roy frowned. "And what happened next?"

"The villagers, though confused, put aside their worries and went to help, but by the time they got there, Trisha was already with her murderer, who was hidden in the shadows. She asked the killer not to harm her boys and then... she was shot."

"Ah," said Maes. "Ah. And... that was the first time anybody had ever heard of the Elric brothers? You're sure?"

"Yes. They'd thought that the Elrics were childless, up until then."

Maes nodded. "I see... there's something I've been wondering. When did the Elrics first arrive in Rizembul?"

"They moved in about five years before they died. Nobody knows where they lived beforehand." Havoc informed him, chewing idly on the end of his unlit cigarette. "Why?"

"I was just wondering, really... how old would the boys have been then, do you think?"

Falman shrugged. "Maybe four, five years old?" he offered. "Why?"

"I want to know if they've been hidden all their lives, or just since they moved here," said Maes. "Do we know where they lived before?"

"We can find out," said Fuery. "I mean, Elric isn't a common name... and there can't be that many people who're as rich as they were."

Roy nodded. "Good point... Maes? You're usually the one who finds out this sort of thing. Any ideas?"

"I've got a friend in Central who could snoop around for us." said Maes. "I'll give him a ring, ask him to look it up. He should be able to get back to us in a few hours' time... his family is pretty influential. Unless it's classified or something, he'll be able to find out."

"And if it is classified?" asked Roy, raising an eyebrow.

Maes grinned. "Oh, I have my ways."

The next few hours were spent fruitlessly trawling the depths of Rizembul library in search of anything they might have missed the last time they were here. Roy was quickly getting frustrated with the lack of information- but then Maes's friend phoned back.

"Right. Right- thanks, Alex, that's great. Oh. Really? That's, um, really interesting, Alex. Generations, huh? Wow. Fascinating. No, that's okay Alex, I'll call you if I need anything else..."

Roy snickered. For once, Maes was having to listen to someone rant about their family, and as far as Roy was concerned it served him right. Honestly, he'd learnt more about Elysia than he had about the Elrics!

Maes finally managed to say goodbye to his friend, and put the phone down with a sigh.

"Very proud of his family?" asked Roy sweetly.

Maes groaned and nodded.

"Now you know how we feel." he smirked. Maes smacked him over the head.

"Settle down, boys," Riza said, not looking up from her book. "Maes- did your friend find anything?"

Maes brightened up. "Quite a bit, actually- where's Jean and Breda? Shouldn't they be here?"

Fuery shrugged. "I think they got bored and decided to take a break. We can fill them in when they get back- what did he tell you?"

"Right. Well, according to Alex, there are records of some Elrics living in a place called Rush Valley, and they're our Elrics all right. A man named Hoenheim, his wife Trisha- and two sons, Edward and Alphonse Elric, aged five and four respectively."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "The kids weren't hidden- wait. Rush Valley? Isn't that the automail town?"

Maes nodded. "That's the place. And the kids definitely weren't hidden- apparently they were pretty famous. There was even an article abut them in the local paper once- they were prodigies."

Roy frowned. "Were they... unusual, at all? I mean, apart from the kids being prodigies. No criminal connections, no scandals... anything?"

Maes shook his head. "Not at all."

"What about the money?" asked Falman suddenly.

"The money?" Roy asked.

Fuery nodded. "That's a good point... the Elrics were very rich, what about the money? Where did they get it from?"

"They inherited it," said Maes. "Hoenheim's family were rather well off."

Roy nodded, although he didn't think that where the Elrics had got the money was particularly relevant. Although he supposed it could be... people did awful things for money.

"Why do you think they left?" he asked. Maes shrugged.

"I'm guessing something happened to the boys, something severe enough to make them want to hide them. Can't have been too severe though- he was a smart guy, he'd have changed their names or something if he thought it was that bad. Perhaps something that he thought might become a danger, if it wasn't dealt with, and he thought by hiding them he could keep them safe..." he trailed off.

There was a moment of speculative quiet as each of them immersed themselves in their thoughts.

"It didn't work." Jean broke the silence. "So does this mean we're going to Rush Valley?"

Maes shook his head. "No. We'll stay here- this is the scene of the crime, after all- but I will see if I can get someone to snoop around Rush Valley for me. If they find anything of interest, we'll go, but there's no point if there's nothing there."

"Fair enough... at least we've made some progress. Where do we go from here?" asked Roy.

"I think we should go back to the mansion," said Fuery. "After all, it's a big place, so we could easily have missed something the first time around..."

Mae nodded. "I agree- hopefully we'll find a few clues about that journal. It was practically in code... but all codes have a cipher, and I'm willing to put money on it being in that mansion."

"Okay then," said Roy, "The mansion it is- tomorrow. For now, let's just go back to the hotel."