Chapter Four: Blue Rose

Blue rose stands for mystery. It also stands for attaining the impossible and love at first sight.

"Ow."

"Sorry…"

"It's fine," Edward winced again when Alphonse touched his wound. "This isn't anything serious. Just a scratch."

"Ed," Alphonse dropped his hands to his lap and glared at his brother, using his actual name instead of his usual moniker to point of how serious the situation was. "They threw a rock at your head. You could have a concussion for all we know."

"Al, I've gotten concussions before. I know I don't have it right now."

Alphonse dabbed the wound with the cotton which he had soaked with disinfectant with more force than necessary. "Doesn't mean this isn't serious, Brother."

Edward hissed in pain. "You shielded me from the worst. I'm fine." He leaned forward to touch Alphonse's shoulder plate. "You're all dented now. We'll have to fix you soon."

Alphonse would have frowned in annoyance if he could. "Brother, I'm an armor. I don't get hurt. It's you we need to worry about." To emphasize his point, Alphonse gave a sudden dab to Edward's would. The older Elric yelped in both pain and surprise. Alphonse stared at him with a look that Edward recognized as his "See?" look.

The door to the room they were using opened, and they turned to see Kaiser walking in. "I'm sorry, I've searched everywhere but I can't find anything to bandage your wound," he sighed tiredly. "Or anything that can be transmuted into a bandage, for that matter. Maybe I should go home to take my supplies."

"You don't have to!" Edward refused loudly. "This is just a scratch, it's nothing serious. The bleeding's stopped anyway."

Kaiser didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyway. "If you're so sure."

Edward stood up and took his jacket. He was currently wearing only his pants and shirt, revealing his automails to the open – Kaiser had stared, before, but chose to stay silent. He had cleaned himself, his clothes included, using a very generous amount of water before drying himself and his clothes with alchemy. He did the same to Kaiser's clothes and Alphonse's loincloth. After his jacket was in place, he braided his loose hair and took a deep breath. "Ready to brave the crowd again, Al?"

Alphonse, who was also already cleaned, nodded. "We need to find a way to keep you safe, though."

Edward nodded grimly without saying anything as he put his shoes on. He would rather not be mobbed again, but by going out of the building he would be putting himself as a target. The thought to call Roy for help crossed his mind, but he shook it off. He was going to solve this on his own. That way he could gloat to that Northern General as much as he wanted.

"Don't worry about that one," Kaiser smiled, looking confident. There was no sign of the anger that adorned his face just after they walked away from the angry crowd earlier. Edward watched as he pulled his gloves on, and Kaiser opened the door and waved to someone.

Soon, a young man walked in. The sandy blond hair and the wood brown eyes were unmistakable. The smile that adorned Fletcher Nash's face in the photographs in Fennel family's house was nowhere to be found, and its place was a straight face that looked almost blank. When the brown orbs met the brothers' own eyes, something akin to guilt flickered in there.

"Edward and Alphonse, meet Fletcher Nash," Kaiser smiled. "Mr. Nash acts as the sheriff of this town. All people respect him, so you should be safe from further attacks."

"They respect him," Edward turned to stare at Kaiser, "like they respect you?"

Kaiser's face turned grim, and he tugged at his shirt. "They have been warned. They shouldn't try anything funny again. This is only a precaution." He nodded at them. "I will leave you alone. Nash, these people are going to the forest. Please make sure they will get there safely."

"Wait, the forest?"

If the blond young man wanted to protest, he never got the chance to. Kaiser had closed the door behind him before he even finished his question. He sighed and turned to the two alchemists. He extended his right hand a little reluctantly. They shook hands and introduced themselves again, and Alphonse mentioned that they saw his photos in the Fennels' house.

Fletcher's eyes widened. "So you've met Ives and Mimosa."

"Nice people, they are," Edward nodded as he eyed Fletcher calculatingly. "Never accused me of being a faeling, or try to attack me."

Fletcher seemed to sense the silent challenge. "I have no intention to harm you," he said carefully. "You may be half fairy, you're still half human. I'm hoping that the latter half is stronger than the former."

Noting that he had similar answer to Ives, Edward stared Fletcher down and searched for any hint of a lie in his eyes. When he found none, he nodded. "Okay. Let's go then."

The three soon walked out of the town hall, with Edward avoiding the townspeople's burning glares in an attempt to avoid provoking them, Alphonse walking closely behind Edward protectively like an iron wall, and Fletcher sending warning glares every then and there to remind the people that the two alchemists were not to be harmed.

"Why do these people believe I'm a faeling?" Edward muttered tiredly. "Biologically, it's totally impossible for a tiny person about this big – " he stretched his thumb and pinky finger apart to make his point " – to have a baby with someone our size!"

"It's true that most people believe that fairies are small," Fletcher laughed weakly, "but some lores state that some are about the same size as us. Fairies come in all shapes and sizes. Nymphs, dryards, elves, dwarves, pixies – all of them have different sizes."

Edward snorted. "Still not a reason to throw things at someone."

"Are you sure going to the forest is the best thing to do?" Fletcher asked after a brief silence. "There is a reason why we banned people from going there."

"Ives and Mimosa seem to go to the forest regularly and they're okay," Edward countered easily.

"They know the forest well, even before Mr. Lotus gave the prohibition."

"Even though they're newcomers?"

Fletcher averted his gaze. "They're adventurous."

"Right," Edward lifted a brow and continued the walk.

It didn't take long for them to get to the forest. When they reached the woods Fletcher quickly said his goodbye, saying that he had some business downtown.

After Fletcher was gone from their sights, Alphonse reached into his armor and took the bright red string Kaiser had given to them before. "Should we start now, Brother?"

Edward cracked his neck. "It's now or never, anyway. Come on, Al."

They cut the string about half a foot long and tied it to the nearest branch before proceeding deeper into the thicket. They had a string tied to a tree every few feet to mark their way and avoid getting lost. Red hung and waved in the air, strikingly visible among brown and green. Feeling more confident with their marking method, the brothers nodded to each other and walked deeper into the woods.

"Where did Ives and Mimosa say the fairies like to hang about?" Edward asked.

"Old and big trees, mostly," Alphonse cut another string and tied it up. "I think we should go a little deeper."

"Alright." Edward turned and walked again. He didn't tell Alphonse, but he felt his wound beginning to sting again. He could take the pain since it was nothing compared to automail connection – or surgery – but getting it infected would be too bothersome. He hoped it was fine.

They reached a big tree that Alphonse quickly recognized as one of the trees Ives had described the day before. Like the elder tree they first met Mimosa at, the branches bow down low although it didn't reach the ground. The trunk was short and the branches long, spreading to all directions like a big umbrella.

"There's also another tree right there," Alphonse pointed to their left. "I'm going to check it out."

"I'll check this tree then," Edward agreed. As soon as Alphonse turned away, his face contorted into a pained frown. He took off his left glove and pressed his flesh finger to his wound, unwilling to stain the glove with blood. The pain made him wince.

Deciding to ignore it for the time being, Edward put his glove back in place and circled the tree. There was no sign of it ever made a contact with a human – oh wait. A rather big branch had been sawed off the trunk. He suspected it hadn't been too long since then, too. He reached forward and touched it gently. People of Faeburn used a lot of firewood, and this one probably was used as such, as well. He sighed. He had seen a lot of trees in this woods getting cut. "Such a waste," he whispered to himself, caressing the wood as if it was the tender skin of someone's hand.

The sound of soft giggling, almost inaudible, made him turn. "Al?" he called, but he could see the sun reflecting off Alphonse's armor from afar. It couldn't be him. Edward frowned.

Another faint giggle made him turn his head around to search. He could see no one that could have made the sound. He looked up to check if there was someone on one of the higher branches, but there was no one. "What in the world?" he mumbled.

He placed his hand on the cut branch again and leaned, sighing. The wound was throbbing. He took off his glove again and touched the wound again. He hissed slightly at the pain and sighed. "It would be so great if this can heal quickly," he muttered as he pressed his forehead to the back of his hand, feeling somewhat comforted by the feeling of his skin.

Incomprehensible mutters buzzed in the air and made him blink. He straightened up in alert and slight fear, feeling annoyed that he hadn't been able to locate the source of the voices. Still he saw no one around, although the buzz sounded like a dozen or so people muttering at the same time.

And then he gasped. The pain at his head wound was gradually disappearing, replaced by the tender feeling of newly healed skin. He could feel the tissue forming and closing together, which reminded him of medical alchemy, somewhat. When the process stopped, he reached again and poked the wound gingerly. There was no pain, no blood, nothing.

"What the hell?!" he hissed to himself. There was no way his wound could've healed in such rapid rate.

A sudden tug to his braid made him gasp again. Another tug, and he felt his hair coming loose. Golden tresses fell to his back before he felt something pulling and tugging it painfully. He fell and landed on his back, yelping all the while. The buzzing mumbling was constant in his ears. He sat up and grabbed his hair, desperate to somehow make the sensation that he was being grabbed by tiny little hands go away. He lifted his automail hand to sweep at the air in an attempt to make whatever this thing was go away. The mutterings changed into giggling once more, and the glove of his automail hand was tugged off.

The faint giggling changed into tiny shrieking that was near inaudible. The alchemist caught the sight of a flash of white before it disappeared. All of a sudden, all the tiny hands vanished, and the forest was dead silent. Edward gulped, feeling even more unnerved all of a sudden. He looked around warily in hope of getting a sight of whatever it was that assaulted him. There was nothing. However, for some reason, he felt like there were dozens of eyes staring at him. It wasn't malicious, it wasn't dangerous… at least he thought it wasn't.

Then, he felt another tug at his hair. It was much less painful this time, yet it had a feeling of urgency in it. The thing grabbed a hold of his flesh hand and tugged it, as well. Edward frowned. He grabbed both his gloves with his automail hand and stood up, deciding to follow whatever this was. Using the direction where he felt his hand and hair was tugged from, he walked carefully. "Al!" he yelled to get his brother's attention. "Follow me!"

"Did you find anything, Brother?" Alphonse asked, running towards him. The tugging suddenly felt more urgent, and Edward found himself breaking into a run every now and then.

"Somewhat," Edward answered cryptically. He let the tugging lead him still, stopping every once in a while to hang a red string to mark their way.

"Why is your hair down?" Alphonse asked while tying a string. "And your gloves, why are they off? You don't usually go around looking like that."

"It… came loose," Edward muttered softly. He didn't know if he should tell Alphonse that his hair was currently acting as their guide. Probably not.

"And your wound… it's healed?"

"It's nothing," Edward looked away. "Let's go, Al!" he quickly marched forward to avoid any more question from Alphonse. He really didn't have any explanation for it. He was still curious of what, exactly, was happening and what these invisible entities were, but he was sure there would be a logical explanation for it. He didn't know it yet, he didn't even have a theory of it, but he was still sure that there was a scientific explanation for it.

It took them quite a while to walk around. By the time the tugging finally ceased, Alphonse had used up at least half of the string to mark their way.

"What's this…?"

Edward took a few steps forward, eyes glued to the few chopped trees and the track marks that marred the ground. He kneeled, hand reaching to the ground to touch the marks. He turned to look at Alphonse. "Looks like those people really were taken by people, huh, Al?"

"We still need to investigate this further though," Alphonse noted. "I wonder where the tracks will lead us to."

"Judging from the direction, north," Edward lowered himself to the ground to examine the direction a little better. "Probably goes all the way to the desert."

"Should we go on and investigate, then?"

"Hmmm," Edward pulled his pocket watch and checked the time. He wrinkled his nose. "I think we should just go back for today. If we go further we might not be able to go back before dark."

Alphonse turned to look at the closest red string he had tied. "Okay. Maybe we should leave these strings, too, so we can find our way here tomorrow."

Edward nodded. "Alright then. Let's brace ourselves, there is no guarantee there will be no more attacks from the townspeople."

Alphonse gave a sigh.

Edward started to push himself to a standing position, but a sudden, almost desperate tug to his right made him turn his head to look. There was something white sitting at the base of a tree, managing to hide from people's prying hands to caress it. He reached and took the object, finally standing up fully, eyes never leaving the object.

It was a flower hairclip. It had four white petals and yellow stamens, looking fresh and pretty while at the same time artificial. He frowned.

It looked familiar, somehow.

By the time they reached the edge of the forest near the town, the sky had changed into the rare, pretty hue of purple twilight. The brothers had spent more time in the forest than they thought they had.

Edward ended up leaving his hair down. Every time he tried to braid it, it came undone, and whenever he tried to tie it up in a ponytail instead his hair would be tugged so hard he nearly cried out. The constant buzzing would sound angry whenever he tried to put his hair in a braid or a ponytail. It seemed that the only way he would be left in relative peace was by letting his hair down.

He had compromised with invisible things, Edward realized. He really didn't know what to feel about it.

They could almost see the town even from within the thicket. Edward stretched as he walked a bit faster, eager to get to Kaiser's house and rest. He didn't pay attention around himself and simply searched for the red strings that marked their way. All of a sudden, Alphonse cried out his name in warning, and he bumped hard into something. Edward moaned painfully, the constant buzzing mumbles in his ears now adapting a tone of worry.

"Sorry," he heard a voice say. He opened his eyes and looked up, and soon his gaze met Ives'.

"Ives," he frowned, taking Ives' outstretched hand and stood up. "What are you doing in here?"

"I, um," Ives bit his lip and looked around.

"Ives! Are you there?"

Ives straightened at the sudden call. "Yeah, I'm here!" he yelled back. "I was helping Fletcher look for you guys," he finally answered Edward's question. "Mr. Lotus asked him to escort the two of you back again."

Soon enough, Fletcher was beside Ives. He hefted a breath. "I was starting to worry if you got lost," he told Edward and Alphonse. "Are you two alright?"

"We're completely fine," Edward answered.

"Right, we should get back then," Fletcher nodded. "Nice hair, by the way."

Edward scowled and pulled his hair into a ponytail. He then blinked. It was only then that he realized the buzzing had sounded more faraway and fading still, adopting a tone of distrust and dislike. He could feel his hair not being tugged and played with but instead being used as some kind of a hiding place. He frowned and decided not to think about it, following the two older men to the town instead.

"I wonder where Mimosa went…"

Alphonse turned to the mumbling Ives, surprised. "Mimosa?"

Ives nodded. "She went out earlier today and hasn't come home since. Normally she'd be home at least an hour before sunset. I checked the tree earlier but she wasn't there."

A gnawing feeling took place in Edward's stomach. Something about this didn't feel right. He really hoped nothing had happened to Mimosa.

They walked out of the surrounding woods and Edward felt whatever was crowding him earlier dispersing away. He took a deep, relieved breath, thinking about what the invisible things really were.

"Brother… is that Mimosa over there?"

"Huh?"

Sure enough, leaning back at one of the bigger trees and completely out in the open, was a sleeping Mimosa. He frowned at the sight. Just what was she thinking, sleeping so peacefully in a place like this? It was as if she was asking to be taken.

"Moss!" Ives called and walked faster to his sister. "Moss, what are you doing, snoring here? Wake up, it's getting dark."

Mimosa didn't stir.

"How can anyone sleep in a place like this?" Fletcher muttered to himself.

This is better than the first week of our training, Edward thought to himself. He kneeled beside the sleeping lady and called, "Mimosa? Hey?"

"Sorry, I think it's no use," Ives sighed and ruffled his own hair. "It's impossible to wake her up once she's sleeping."

Edward moved his right hand to shake Mimosa's shoulder. Then, his eyes widened, and he wondered if he was actually dreaming.

Ripples appeared in the air where his fingers were, and the sight of the sleeping Mimosa rippled along with them. The image broke into a static, and Edward pulled his hand back. When the image finally cleared, Mimosa was no longer there.

In its place was a mossy log of wood.

A/N: This one's a bit shorter than the rest, but I feel that this is the perfect place to cut it off sooo.

I planned to have this uploaded earlier this week but... I snagged a writer's block on this one. It's also a reason why this is a bit short. On the other hand Mimosa's disappearance is an important plot point, so at least I got there.

Oh well, I hope I can make the next chapter longer to make up for this one. Hopefully I can have it uploaded some time next week.

Hope you enjoyed this, and please leave a review!