Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter Thirteen
Good-Bye Pinako
Reseembool
Pinako's Funeral
It wasn't the first funeral the Elric children had attended. They had attended the funerals of both Izumi Curtis and their cousin. Though most of them were not there, and of the ones who were none remembered, they had attended the funerals of Vato Falman and Rose Thomas. They had been through several funerals in the capacity of the Fuhrer's Family. It never became easier.
Their mother and father were heartbroken, their uncle devastated. Their grandparents and aunt doing everything they could to comfort the other three as they prepared to bury the woman who had cared for them when all others were gone, and they were little more than toddlers. Rebecca and Jean Havoc had come by early that morning and taken the little girls, so the parents and grandparents could concentrate on the funeral itself. They would meet them at the cemetery.
Severus Snape arrived shortly before they all left, he had grown fond of Pinako over the years and wanted to pay his respects as well. Heymans Breda had arrived with him. Alex Armstrong remaining behind to take care of the office while they were gone but sent his regards. The small town was teeming with vistors, come to pay their respects for the woman who had helped so many over the years.
It was a far larger crowd than Yuery was expecting. He knew Granny had been well respected and famous, much like his mom, but he had no idea so many would arrive on such short notice. William stood beside him silently, never comfortable with crowds, his little brother generally hid behind him or found a way to slip away as quickly as possible, and this was a large crowd. William made no move to hide or retreat, however. Maes stood on his other side, Tad and Trisha holding hands behind them, as they walked between their parents, grandparents, and aunt and uncle. The crowd watching them quietly as they made their way to the graveside.
Rebecca and Jean stood far back with Sarah, Lizzie, and Izumi, keeping them mostly away from the notice of the crowd, even as several automail engineers including their mother's friend and her former mentor made speeches about Pinako's legacy. Even Pinako's former rival Dominic arrived.
The first of the mourners to speak was Garfiel, who spoke clearly but far more calm than normal. "I only had the honor of meeting Ms. Rockbelle a handful of times over the years, admittedly I know her granddaughter, Winry, far better. That said, Pinako Rockbelle was well known as one of the greatest automail mechanics of our time. She was brilliant, her designs second only to her dedication to her customers."
William leaned against Yuery for a moment as Garfiel seemed to gather his thoughts before continuing. Yuery hugged William, Maes joined them a moment later as their Grandfather moved slightly closer to offer his support silently. "I know that I didn't know Ms. Rockbelle well, but I assume she must have been a wonderful person to have raised such a kind person as her granddaughter, Winry Rockbelle-Elric, a name I know all of you have heard before, who I had the great pleasure of mentoring before she went on and made just a great a name for herself as her grandmother before her. So, Pinako Rockbelle, you will be missed and thank you for everything you gave us in your time here."
Garfiel stepped back then, making sure to take a moment to hug Winry before melding back into the crowd of mourners. William straightened back up, and looked around self-consciously, as if concerned someone had seen him leaning on his big brother. Their grandfather offered him a small sad smile before Yuery squeezed his hand to show his continued support. Yuery himself had managed to keep the same stoic expression as his father and grandfather as he listened, fully aware that there could even now be spies in the crowd and wanting to offer them nothing in the way of weaknesses.
Paninya, their mother's assistant, was the next to come forward. The children knew her nearly as well as they did their father's staff, so it was understandable when Maes let out a small groan under his breath. The thing he knew best about Paninya was that she was exceptionally good at telling embarrassing stories, and that she liked to rile up his father whenever she could just to prove he was still the same 'loud-mouthed hothead' she had met years ago. William offered his brother a reassuring nod. William knew her best of the three boys, as he spent the most time in their mother's office his interest in automail far greater than his interest in affairs of the country. "She won't say anything terrible to upset Dad, not at a funeral." William said to their little brother. "Remember, she is an adult and does attend state events…even if she acts like she isn't when Dad visits their workshop."
"Pinako Rockbelle was one of the greatest automail mechanics of all time. I won't say the greatest, I have my own opinions on who that honor goes to, but she absolutely deserves all the praise she received over the years." Paninya stated calmly, as Maes relaxed. It seemed his brothers were right and there was nothing to worry about. "From what I saw, and I was never her patient, she was good with patients and with her family. She will be missed."
Maes frowned as it seemed to be a rather short speech and he wondered why she had bothered at all, but Yuery assured him that most people didn't know Granny personally, so it was likely that most of the speeches would be shorter. William agreed as they listened to a couple of people, they had never met praise their Granny as former patients, before another automail mechanic, Dominic, stepped forward.
"Everyone here knows that this woman scared the shit out of me. At least that's the way I've heard it phrased several times over the years," he began to the nervous laughter and glared from the crowd. He ignored his son making slashing motions to be quiet, as well as Paninya seeming to make her way back up front, likely to drag him away. "What most of you do not know, is that respected her. I like to think she respected me as well, but we will never know for sure. Yes, we were rivals, to an extent. No, I had no desire to work closely with her or anyone else for that matter, but that doesn't change the fact that Pinako Rockbelle was a legend. She was a good mechanic, and a terrible friend. She could drink you under the table, and she could fix nearly anyone. She had no patience for chatter, yet somehow managed to raise three of the most talkative kids I ever met. No one truly understood her, but she will be missed. Now I am getting down before my son or Paninya burst a gasket. Alright, I'm coming."
Paninya had indeed arrived to drag the old man away, and Maes watched on with wide eyes as his father visibly held back whatever rant the man had pushed to the front of his mind and his mother looked like she wanted to scream. Luckily, their grandmother was able to whisper something that calmed them both, but judging by his aunt's expression, Dominic was going to regret his speech. It did seem to Maes that the man was trying to compliment Granny, though he seemed to throw out just as many insults. William and Yuery both tensed as well while the man talked, but as a few more patients came for Yuery relaxed again, and William did his best to remain calm in the face of the large crowd.
Heymans came forward next, not certain of what exactly he wanted to say but wanting to say something after that speech which sounded more like an ongoing argument than honoring the woman they were burying in his opinion. He glanced over at his boss and the boss' kids and knew what he wanted to say. "Okay, so far, a bunch of people have talked about Pinako Rockbelle, the automail mechanic. Some have talked about Pinako Rockbelle the grandmother. Well, I can say I saw both those pieces of her, but I also saw Pinako Rockbelle, the grieving party. In my darkest hours, the worst days of my life, this woman sat beside me and offered her own suffering to show me that as horrible as it was, it wasn't the end of me. I didn't believe her at the time, couldn't see a world without Vato as anything but misery." He paused for a moment to collect himself, this wasn't about him really, it was meant to be about her. "She told me then, she understood how I felt, had buried pieces of her heart so many times sometimes she wondered how she managed to have any heart left at all, but she did. I know she did because she fought with everything, she had to save Vato, and sat with me when it wasn't enough. She fought with everything she had a few years before, she told me, to save Edward and that time she won. She fought for everyone, and whether she saved them or not they mattered to her. All of them. Especially her family."
Jean came up before Heymans could break down and hugged him. "As most of the people we know remember, Heymans is talking about Vato Falman, one of the bravest and kindest men I ever had the pleasure of working with. One of my closest friends, who was fatally injured in an attack as he helped protect the Elric children. Pinako fought day and night to save him, as well as several others injured, keeping everyone safe in the medical wing of her house. It is my understanding it was something she had done several times during the War as well. She was a great woman… and a great cook. Ever since we got stationed here, she made sure to come by at least once a week with her stew and rolls."
Roy came forward next, as Jean led Heymans away. Jean still looking a bit uncomfortable after his impromptu speech. He wanted to honor this brave woman and had been fine toning what could be said with the razor line between truth and public knowledge. "As Havoc mentioned briefly, Pinako saved my son Edward following a horrific accident years ago. She had already been caring for him and his brother for a few years following their mother's death. I was on the Front at the time, as I assume you know. I met her for the first time in person a few days later when I arrived looking for the boys. Edward was not in any shape to travel. They stayed here with her for another year, and she fitted Ed with automail with the help of her granddaughter, my daughter in law, Winry. Pinako was a great woman and will be missed terribly by all who knew her. Especially her family."
Ed and Al went up together, Al not sure he was up to standing there alone, as Ed began "Granny took care of us our whole lives. She was always there, just down the road. When my mom got sick, it was Granny who I went to get help. When I had my accident, Al came to Granny. When We were all alone, she was there for us. She was there when my kids came into the world. She was there when my nephew left it. She was always there. Always. I don't know what we're going to do without her." Ed frowned then, as Al just nodded in agreement and led them back to their Father. Roy hugged them both before Ed hugged each of his children in turn and Al hugged Mei and his son.
Then Winry came forward. "Everyone remembers Granny well. They remember that she helped so many during and after the war. That she opened her doors to soldiers in need even after all soldiers had done to cause her family harm years later when once again, a horrible attack occurred." Winry paused a moment to take a deep breath. "I remember all of that too. I also remember a woman who held me late at night, when I woke up scared that my mom and dad were never coming home. Who held me tighter still when that fear was realized. I remember a woman who, despite an ever-increasing demand and decreasing resources, cared for the two little boys down the lane when their own mother was taken far too soon, and father was unreachable. I remember a woman who has spend my entire life making sure we were cared for, that our children were cared for. This is a woman who celebrated our joys, mourned our losses, and above all loved us when things were hard. So yeah, I know she was a great mechanic, and she saved many people, but she was also my Granny. We'll miss you."
Edward came up to his wife and led her back from the crowd as her tears fell and everyone gave her a few moments of silence before the crowd slowly started breaking away. Soon enough, all that remained was the family, standing before the fresh grave as they said their final goodbyes.