"Elicia, do you have all your clothes and food packed for your journey?" Gracia Hughes asks her daughter as she embraces her.
"Yes, Mom. Please, don't worry about me I'm going to be fine." Elicia answers while cringing against her mother's tight embrace.
Gracia sniffles and gets teary eyed. She says, "It's just that… oh, your father would be so proud of you."
Elicia tenses up at the mention of her father and avoids eye contact with her mother. Gracia kisses her daughter on the forehead and says,
"Amestris has a wonderful education system and I'm sure you'll grow quite fond of the city. I know you'll probably be busy studying and preparing for your exams while you're at school, but if you have time… pay your father a visit. I'm sure he'd be happy."
"Mom…." Elicia says once she realizes that her mother is crying. She's on the verge of tears herself.
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to get all emotional. Say hi to the Elric brothers for me if you ever see them, and Winry as well."
"I will, Mom. I promise I'll be fine, so don't worry about me while I'm gone. I'll call you to tell you how I'm doing whenever I have the chance."
Gracia pulls back and says, "I love you, sweetie. You'll always be my little girl."
Elicia bites her lip and quickly brushes away the tears forming in her eyes. "I love you too, Mom. Take care."
Elicia takes her luggage and heads out of the house, walking up to her mother's friend's car that will take her to the train station. She looks back to the front porch of her house and sees her mother waving to her. She waves back after securing all the luggage in the back seat of the car and sits in the passenger seat.
"Are you nervous, Elicia?" Carrie, her mother's best friend asks.
"A little bit, but it's nothing I can't handle. There's going to be somebody to pick me up at the train station when I get to Amestris so I won't get lost or anything." Elicia answers.
"That's not exactly what I meant, but I'm glad you feel that way. But you have always been with your mother for the longest time, so does leaving her make you feel afraid and alone?"
"W-Well… I'm not afraid, but I know this is a step I'll have to take. I'm not the little girl I was before anymore."
Carrie smiles and says, "Of course, of course. Just wanted to make sure that you're okay."
Elicia decides to look out the window instead of continuing the conversation any further. The truth is, she isn't going to Amestris to go to school. She's going to Amestris to find her father's killer and avenge her father. Of course she couldn't tell her mother that because she would never let her do something like that, and it would worry her to death. The person who she is going to meet at the train station in Amestris is a military official that Führer Mustang sent to pick her up. Elicia feels terrible lying to her mother, but she feels like her life is broken and has never been the same after the death of her father, and her mother suffered the most from it. Her mother never remarried, and Elicia still remembers seeing her crying by herself in the night sometimes.
"Alright, Elicia. We're here." Carrie states.
Elicia gets out of the car and unloads her luggage. Suddenly, Carrie pulls her into a hug and says, "I wish you the best of luck, Elicia."
Elicia nods and bids her goodbye. She purchases a one way ticket for Central City, Amestris. She boards the train and sits in a small compartment by herself. She slowly unzips one of her bags and sees the familiar glimmer of her dual alchemy swords. There's an identical, intricate, unique transmutation circle engraved onto both hilts of the swords and she's proud of the fact that she could use them even as a non-alchemist. She had studied up on alchemy a few years after her father died and tried to figure out why everything had happened. Alchemy was not in her blood, but it doesn't prevent her from learning what she can about it. She had obtained these swords when she was twelve, unbeknownst to her mother from a black market that she happened to wander into and miraculously got out fine with what she wanted. She still hasn't completely mastered the dual swords yet, but she can wield them well enough. She quickly zips the bag up, afraid that somebody will see and leans back into her seat. It's been thirteen years. Thirteen years since her father's death, thirteen years since she's moved away from her birthplace. Everything must have changed since then, for the better, or for the worse. She doesn't really remember everything from her childhood in Amestris, since she has only been there up until she was four years old. However, she does remember some parts and the people she has met since she didn't really meet that many people during that time in her childhood. Elicia starts to fall asleep after a while, and she was awakened by the train's whistle blowing, signifying that the train has reached its destination. Elicia gets up and hurriedly gathers her things, getting off the train and scouring for the person she has to meet.
"Miss Elicia? Elicia Hughes?"
Elicia turns in the direction of the voice and sees a blonde woman wearing a military outfit. The woman smiles at her and says,
"You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you. I'm Riza Hawkeye, and I'm here under the orders of Führer Mustang to pick you up."
Elicia returns the smile and says, "Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet- er… see you again."
Riza laughs and says, "Oh, it's quite alright. We haven't officially met so you are in fact meeting me for the first time."
"Oh, in that case, it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Hawkeye."
"Just Riza is fine."
"So um… when does the Führer want to see me?"
"Right now, actually. I'm sorry for the rush, but sometimes he can be a bit… inconceivable."
Elicia laughs and says, "It's okay, it's better that he sees me as soon as possible than putting me off."
Riza smiles and directs Elicia to the military car where she helps her load her luggage inside. Elicia sits in the passenger seat and catches herself nervously twiddling her thumbs. Riza notices and says,
"Don't worry, he's a nice guy. Too nice to be the Führer, actually."
That actually relieves Elicia a bit, but she still starts to rehearse what she has planned to say in her head over and over again as she is driven to Central Command.