Waiting: Mother Arc: Chapter 13

Roy leaned against the back porch railing and watched the brothers spar. It was always a treat to watch them—he particularly enjoyed seeing Edward in action—but the rhythm of this match was different and it was making him uneasy. Ed was pushing, keeping Al on his toes and making him work for his win. This wasn't a work-out—this was training.

The question was why.

There was a soft bump against his leg, and he bent down to scratch Magpie's back. The kitten mrrped, then jumped onto the railing, giving the two figures in the yard a dubious look before settling down to grooming. Roy agreed with the sentiment.

Ed had been uneasy but strangely tight-lipped when he'd come in the night before. Roy had probed with a few leading questions but his answers had been evasive. He had so clearly not wanted to talk about whatever it was that Roy hadn't pressed. He did trust his lover to have sense enough not to withhold something truly important, so he could assume there was no imminent danger. He didn't seem to have gone and done something rash in the time Roy had been at work, so that was a good sign.

Even so, there was danger—or there had been.

He narrowed his eye as he watched his young lover block an attack, and then launch a rapid series of strikes, his face grim with concentration. Ed's actions were those of warrior who had just realized he'd been gotten lax.

That in itself was not particularly worrisome. Ed's protective nature could shy into overprotectiveness at the slightest nudge. But the way he was keeping quiet sent up warning flags.

The rules of the game had been changed.

* * *

"‹With respect, Princess, what is it you hope to find?›"

Mei shook her head, pacing the length of the room before whipping around hard enough that her braids flew out behind her. "‹I don't know,›" she admitted, stalking back the other way. "‹But I can't just sit here. Not now that I know he's followed me here.›" She stopped in front of the table, frowning down at the map on its surface. "‹A transmutation that big must have left some trace behind.›"

"‹Desert, Princess,›" Yu reminded her. "‹It reclaims its own.›"

"‹An array cannot be drawn in sand. Even if it's buried, there should be something left.›"

"‹Even so, what is it you hope to find?›" Yu repeated. "‹And I might remind you that frightening you into rash action may have been his intent.›"

"‹I know!›" She tugged on her hair in frustration. "‹But I can't do nothing!›"

Yu pressed her clasped hands to her mouth, staring down at the map beneath her elbows. She had been at this all day with the princess, and still felt no closer to understanding what had happened the night before. She sighed, resting her forehead against her fingers. "‹Forget him. What had you been planning to do? What would you be doing if Prince Ling hadn't shown up?›"

The young woman dropped into a chair and dropped her head to her hands. "‹I was already thinking of going to Liore. I'm getting nowhere!›" She shook her head, her braids dancing against the table. "‹Those brothers know something, I'm sure of it, but neither one will talk. The younger one is amiable most of the time, but even he avoids certain topics.›"

"‹So he does.›" Yu regarded the princess. Mei had not yet come out and named what she was after, but she thought that maybe the time for such evasiveness had passed. "‹And yet,›" she ventured, "‹I'm almost positive the crest they wear is an ancient symbol for the philosopher's stone.›"

Mei's eyes narrowed. Yu could see the shrewd calculation taking place behind the deceptively innocent features. "‹Tell me about that crest,›" she said slowly.

Yu did. She told her what she remembered reading in a centuries-old book that had come into her possession by chance. Then she explained the meanings of the individual components of the crest, as well as the alternative meanings that had lead her to the conclusion she stated. "‹They claim to have inherited it from their teacher›," she finished. "‹But I wonder if there isn't more to it than that.›"

"‹But it is an alchemy sigil?›"

"‹Definitely. Though I wouldn't know how to use it. The description I read was vague, ___and those two boys didn't seem too eager to talk about it. Something. . . .›" She paused, remembering. "‹There was something about it that bothered them.›"

Mei groaned, rubbing her forehead. "‹Which means neither one of them is likely to tell me anything. Damn!›" She thumped her head to the table. "‹Why does my only lead have to be so difficult?›"

Yu sighed, rubbing her temples. She shared the younger woman's frustration, though for different reasons. These boys were clearly an important part of her son's life. If she was going to have a chance of understanding him, she needed to understand them—particularly Edward. It shouldn't have been hard, they both seemed like open, straight-forward young men. But there was so much under the surface, so much she wasn't seeing.

She wasn't unaware that taking the side-route the Elrics presented was her way of avoiding what she should be doing. But as difficult as those boys were to fathom, her son was even more so. She hardly knew where to start.

Further contemplation was cut short by a tentative knock. Her niece poked her head in and informed her Roy was waiting just outside.

Li Xue hesitated as she stepped aside, shooting her aunt an unreadable look. Yu raised an eyebrow, but the younger woman averted her gaze, motioning her out to the courtyard.

Her son was still in uniform, looking proper and intimidating as he leaned against a post at the edge of the open area. His smile when he saw her was warm enough, but there was a calculating look in his single eye that immediately put her on guard.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," he said. "I understand there was some excitement last night."

One corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "I suppose you could call it that."

"Nothing serious, I hope?"

"No, not really." Not in the sense of anyone getting hurt, that is. She wasn't sure about the rest.

Yu folded her hands behind her back and stepped out into the courtyard. She had gotten caught up with Mei's end of things and hadn't thought this through as she would have liked.

Roy fell into step beside her. The evening light highlighted the planes of his face, emphasizing the calm yet attendant expression. She didn't think it wasn't genuine, but something about it seemed . . . calculated.

"I had an unexpected visitor last night," she started.

He made an affirmative noise and nodded. "Someone else has crossed the desert."

Yu paused in mid-step, raising an eyebrow at her son.

Roy chuckled as he turned to face her. "If this had involved an Amestrian, Fullmetal may have kept quiet about it as you requested, but he would have taken matters into his own hands. I assume the embassy party was chosen with some care, so the most logical conclusion is that there's an extra." After a pause, he added, "One who is potentially dangerous, given Ed's state of agitation. Dangerous—but not an immediate threat."

She pursed her lips. "Well. I hardly need to tell you anything. Edward did mention something about mind-reading."

He smirked. "Ed gives me too much credit. If I could read minds, I wouldn't have to ask why you want to keep this to yourself."

Yu narrowed her eyes at the cool arrogance her son was projecting. Was this how he was to others? "As you've guessed, it's a Xingian matter. I thought it should be kept so. Despite Edward's initial involvement."

Roy gestured to the surrounding grounds. "I may not be Xingian, but so long as the embassy is in my jurisdiction, what happens here is my concern." There was a sharpness to his gaze as he added, "Especially considering who was involved."

"But the embassy is considered Xingian land," she countered. "So long as it does not spill onto Amestrian soil, it is the concern of Princess Mei."

"But it already has," he stated. "Not from Fullmetal's involvement, although that certainly adds to it." He paused for a heartbeat, then added, "If someone is here illegally, that is precisely my concern."

The calm assertion caught her off guard. That hadn't occurred to her—and it should have.

"When the embassy arrived, the princess signed paperwork that stated how many persons were included. It did not allow for extras."

"A little controlling, I would think," she muttered.

"Be that as it may, it's been a requirement for a long time."

Yu remembered the hassle she had gone through when she came to this country to study, but she had been on her own then. She hadn't thought about how a group would be affected. "I see," she said. "My apologies for not telling you straight away, then. I wouldn't want to cause you any problems with your superiors."

"Their opinions of me would hardly be affected." His smile had an odd quality about it. "But my duties are what they are." His expression sobered. "If there's been an illegal entrance in my region then that is something I need to address. Is there someone here from Xing who did not come with the embassy?"

She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "There is," she conceded. "A young man of about twenty. I couldn't tell you why he's here."

"He didn't give you any indications when he . . . spoke with you last night?"

"He was vague." She shook her head. "He spoke mostly in hyperbole."

He seemed to be waiting for more. She sighed again.

"All I know is that he wanted my cooperation. Edward interrupted whatever point he was trying to make."

Roy nodded. "All right. It's not much to go on, but I suppose it'll have to do." He glanced to the darkening sky, and when he looked back, his expression had warmed. "It's late, I shouldn't keep you. You will take care? I . . . don't like the thought of you being threatened."

"I'll be fine. I doubt one old woman would be worth the effort."

He gave her another odd smile, and said, "Perhaps."

They exchanged a few more pleasantries, before he bade her goodnight.

After he had left, Yu made her way back to Mei's quarters. She folded her arms as she turned the conversation over in her mind. She supposed she'd been nave to think she could have control over what information her son received, but she hadn't expected to deal with . . . she wasn't quite sure what she'd just dealt with. Only that it hadn't been the little boy she'd watch grow up.

Mei was waiting for her just inside the doorway. The princess had clearly been watching the whole exchange, and had probably heard quite a bit. "‹I know he's your son,›" she said, slowly, "‹and I mean no offense, but . . . I'm not sure I entirely trust him.›"

"‹No offense taken, Princess.›" She sat down at the table and rubbed a hand over her eyes. "‹I understand.›"

What she couldn't say out loud, what she could barely admit to herself, was that she wasn't sure just how much she trusted him right now, either.

* * *

"‹Cousin!›"

Roy paused just outside the edge of the embassy grounds and let Li Xue catch up to him.

"Can I walk with you a while?"

"Certainly."

"If it makes you feel any better," she said in a low voice as they started down the block, "my aunt is not talking much to me, either. She has been the whole day with the princess. I am still not sure what happened last night."

He smiled wryly. "I shouldn't be too surprised. I knew there would be . . . politics. But I wasn't expecting this."

His cousin fell silent. After a moment, she said, carefully, "Your mother carries her father's loyalties to the Chang clan. Such loyalties can be very strong."

"And you? What loyalties do you carry?"

She smiled. "I am a merchant's daughter and a scholar. My family's loyalty is to money and goods, and my own is to knowledge."

Roy nodded. Those loyalties were easy to understand.

Li Xue glanced off to the side, and seemed to be considering something. Eventually she continued. "I believe Princess Mei came here seeking something. A . . . I forget the word. Something to help her in competing with the other children of the emperor."

"An advantage."

"Yes. I do not know what. But . . . she may not be the only one who has come here to seek it."

Roy exhaled through his nose. "Something she thinks she can find here in Amestris, and not in Xing. Something related to alchemy."

"Yes. Or so I think."

"Well. I hope this will not put anyone else in danger."

"As do I."

They had reached Roy's car, and he turned to his cousin as they paused on the sidewalk. "Be careful."

She smiled. "These things are not unexpected when dealing with the royal family."

"Mm. But now they involve Amestris." He made a sweeping gesture, and gave her an apologetic smile. "And that's where my loyalty lies."

As he sat in the car and watched his cousin walk back to the embassy, Roy's jaw clenched. He was probably jumping to conclusions. He had very little to go on and even less that was certain. A life of politics and intrigue has made him paranoid.

He started the car and pulled away from the curb, wishing he could believe it was that simple.

* * *

Ed met him at the top of the stairs, bare to the waist and hair still dripping from the shower. He took one look at Roy's face and grimaced.

"I woulda told you—I wanted to tell you—but she asked me not to."

Roy let his expression soften. "I know. I figured as much." He reminded himself that his lover was not the one he was upset with.

Ed sighed as he rubbed a towel over his hair. "Almost went over there today. She said that Ling guy wouldn't've actually hurt her, but I don't like the way he was waving that sword around."

Roy raised an eyebrow at this but held his tongue.

"I figured she'd be pretty safe if she stuck around Mei, though. Your mom said something about Ling not attacking Mei outright—this sounds like one fucked-up family, you know that?"

Roy chuckled, and let his hand rest on the damp skin of Edward's back as they walked to the bedroom. "Indeed it does."

"Seems a shit way to run a country, to have the royal family at each other's throats," the young man grumbled. "But what I don't get is why it's involving your mom. She said Ling was reminding her that she could technically do what she wanted, but I don't get why it matters."

Interesting. "Mother has the ear of the princess. That kind of influence can be worth a lot."

"Maybe. But if she's loyal to Mei then what does he think he's going to do?" Ed yawned, and flopped down on the bed. "I just don't like that Ling guy." He propped his chin on his folded arms and watched the older man through the doorway to the bathroom. "There's something slimy about him."

Roy listened as the young man gave him a brief rundown of the night before. The emphasis was not where he would have liked and he suspected there were details missing, but all he did was make the occasional encouraging noise. He needed any information he could get right now, and the last thing he wanted to do would be to put the source of that information on the defensive.

"Must've covered half the city today looking for him. Would've thought he'd stand out."

Roy made a questioning noise around his toothbrush.

"The slums were my first thought, but nobody there said they'd seen anyone from Xing. The ones that bothered to talk to me, that is." He rolled onto this back and stretched, and Roy allowed himself a momentary distraction of watching the muscles ripple beneath the scarred skin. "The slums could be overrun with homunculi and no one would say anything. Anyway, then I realized he could be staying anywhere. He seems like the resourceful type, and there's enough warehouses and empty apartments and such throughout the city. If he's keeping near the embassy, then no one would look twice. The girl in the mask might get noticed, but she seems good at staying in the shadows."

Roy cocked an eyebrow again as he bent over to spit. So there'd been two people.

"But why the fuck are they even here?" Ed grumbled, oblivious. "Mei, too. Your mom said they were looking for some kinda edge. Mei wants to help her clan, Ling wants the throne or something—I dunno, I just wish I knew what that had to do with them coming here."

"Those are answers I wish I had, as well." He muttered under the sound of running water.

A short time later he exited the bathroom to find Ed scowling up at the ceiling, his arms still folded above his head as if they'd been forgotten after his stretch.

"How well do rumors travel across the desert?"

Roy paused in the middle of changing and looked over. "It's difficult to say. But there has been a steady trade presence here, even when there wasn't an embassy, so it's safe to say that rumors do make it across to Xing."

Ed grunted. Judging by the way his expression darkened, this was not news he was happy to hear.

"Something on your mind?" Roy ventured.

He made a disgruntled noise and turned onto his stomach, crawling up to the head of the bed. "No. It's nothing. I'm just being paranoid."

"Mm." He let it go, but mentally added his lover's unspoken suspicions to the list of clues. The catalog was getting quite long, and the more evidence he had, the less he liked the options.