1776, South Carolina.
American Revolutionary militia, with few trained men and poor morale but encouraged by people and ideals, seemed to be fighting a losing battle against the English armies that defended the territory in the name of the king. It was a matter of time until they broke past the rebel troops and made their way to North Carolina, and, eventually, to Washington, where the heart of the new Republic was still tender and unprepared.
---
You yawned. That little cart advanced pathetically slowly- there was no way that with that pace you'd be reaching Conway as soon as planned. Well, perhaps it was for the better.
Your family was already waiting there, since they had departured a couple of days earlier to make the formal and legal arrangements for -you sighed- your wedding. You certainly didn't love that Earnest guy your family had chosen for you. Well, not like they had a choice. Earnest's father was a prominent man- he'd become rich importing tea from Ceilan- and, being an old acquaintance of your father's, he'd decided that *you* were the girl for his son... and your father had considered it to be the cherry atop his ice-cream.
The unfortunate Earnest had to break his engagement with some girl called Rose in order to do as his father told and marry you. So none of both were really pleased with the idea of marriage.
Your mother, who understood your point of view, had convinced your father to let you stay in Marion -your home town- for as long as the formalities lasted. But now they were over it was time to swallow hard and go through with all, and that was why you were sitting on that lame cart, sighing your heart off and watching rows of trees at the sides of the dirt path pass. Mr. Breda guided the horses, and Mrs. Breda was working on her embroidery, and both were singing. They were the negro caretakers of your house, who had been told to deliver you carefully to Conway. They sympathized with you, but there was nothing they could do in their condition of slaves to help you get away from what had become "the duty".
You thought of plenty of things as the afternoon wore off, how badly you wanted the country to be finally independent and slavery to be abolished, and how much you wished -something- would happen that would finally terminate with the marriage, Earnest, Conway, and all that blasted matter. Especially the latter.
Jumping off the cart and running in the opposite direction appeared appealing at the moment you heard the first shots.
They didn't sound distant, but the cart didn't stop. When it turned around the road bend, the source of the shots became clear, and realization washed upon mr. and mrs. Breda, and you.
You were right in the middle of a struggle between the American rebels and the Redcoats -the English. Your heart seemed to have stopped; you'd never seen such massive gore before. For some reason, also, the Redcoats remarkably surpassed the rebels in number, and they were currently surrounded and trying hard to break through the English defense line.
Soldier after soldier fell, regardless nationality.
"L-let's get away from here!," you said as soon as you found your words again, and mr. Breda tensed the bridles of the horses to make them retrocede.
But two shots went amiss.
One tore through mrs. Breda's heart, killing her instantly. You rushed to her, with your eyes wide as plates and your mouth slightly hanging open, unable to articulate speech.
The other one dug into the flesh of one of the horses, making it neigh deafeningly and stand on its rear legs, and eventually lose grip and fall to a side, disestabilising the other horse as well. They fell to never get up again.
The cart as well fell to a side, with such a luck that mr.Breda's head hit a rock on the side of the road and he lost consciousness immediately. Horrified, you saw how a stream of blood started puddling below him.
You screamed a high-pitched scream no one heard, and fainted.
---
It was dusk when you opened your eyes again. Strangely serene, you found that you'd been covered by the cart, and thus guarded from any potential harm. You couldn't hear any sound but the birds and the rustling treetops, and that was all but reassuring. As a good thing, it meant the battle was over. But also that you were alone, and you were lost. You bit your lower lip and frowned, concerned.
Emerging from below the cart (you didn't even look at mr. and mrs. Breda, in fear of fainting again), you squinted your eyes to try to see something. The pale golden glow that radiated from the line of the horizon was barely enough to let you see vague, undefined silhouettes against the floor. Dead men the Redcoats would surely come to pick up later. You pursed your lips. You could start a fire and wait for them.
That would surely have been what you would have done, if you hadn't seen movement to the side of the road.
"Is anyone there...?" you called, and took a couple of tentative steps towards the place.
The reply came in the form of a tired "Yeah," and, looking harder you could see a person sitting indian-style on the dirt. You walked to the person and knelt in front of him.
"Are you alright, sir?" you asked.
"Do I look alright?" was the unnerved answer. You swallowed. There wasn't much you could make out in that dim light, but you could tell he was a young man, and he seemed to be wincing.
You suddenly had an idea. "Wait a second."
After a while you came back, carrying an oil lamp and a couple of blankets in your arms, and a basket with some food.
The young man looked at you strangely. "Where did you get all that?"
Smiling sheepishly and sadly, you said, "We'd... brought these in case we had to spend the night on the road... you know... just in case."
"They got your fellows too, eh?" he stated weakly, and let out a defeated chuckle.
You lowered your eyes. "Let's wait here until someone passes."
It was hard to tell your surprise when the stranger grabbed your shoulders tight and, putting you what you thought was eye-level with him (it was already pretty dark,), he said,
"Listen. Help me get away from here, or those redcoats will come and hang me."
You swallowed, and nodded. So the young man was a rebel... well, he wasn't wearing the traditional red coat English uniform, and his words had just confirmed it. Managing to somehow fit the blankets into the basket, you lit the lamp and passed his arm over your shoulders. You hoisted the basket on your right arm, and passed the left around his midriff. He hissed in pain.
"S-sorry," you stuttered, moving your grip up.
"Just, be careful," the rebel said coarsely, and muttered under his breath many curse words you flushed at.
Carrying him, you walked deep into the forest that stretched to the side of the road. You couldn't tell if you'd advanced a great deal or not, because carrying the wounded man was not an easy task, and your formal, frilly dress got caught in many twigs or low branches.
You didn't stop until his breathing became too labored.
Choosing a tree, you placed the young man against its trunk as gently as you could, and propped down next to him, trying to normalize your breathing too.
Thankfully, there was still plenty of oil in the luminary. Looking up to his face for the first time, you were mildly surprised. At first you'd thought his voice was handsome, but now you could say that the whole of him was handsome too. He had curly copper locks that were tied back in a sloppy ponytail in the nape of his neck, and clear eyes of an undefined color -which could have been very well a shade of violet-, that sported a spark of intelligence, or even malice. You smiled slightly at him.
Only then, you noticed that he was clutching his left side, from where blood still seemed to be ebbing. Quickly you took one of the blankets from inside the basket, and asked him, "Can you lend me a knife?"
He drowned a chuckle and reached for his belt, from where he took a small jackknife.
"Here," he breathed. You dedicated him a reassuring smile, and started working. He immediately deduced what you were doing. You tore a reasonable amount of long blanket strips and tied them, to use them as bandages, and meanwhile, he struggled to get out of his bloodied coat.
The bandages were improvised in no time, and you couldn't but let out a small chuckle at his attempts at taking off his rusty garment.
"Let me help you," you said, and carefully removed the royal blue coat. Then you worked on unbuttoning the vest, and as you did, you asked, in a conversational tone, his name.
"Envy," he replied laconically.
You looked up at him. "Envy?"
He shrugged. "That's what I go by. It's as good as my name." And after that the silence became a little tense.
Finally the shirt came off too.
"I'd have never imagined I'd be taking someone's clothes off for the first time in a situation such as this one," you commented.
He let out a small, mirthless smile. He was about to open his mouth to say a snide remark, but instead what came out was a gasp, and he clutched his bare wound tightly.
"Holy shit," you heard him whisper in-between pants, "That fucking bullet's still inside."
Concern flashed in your eyes. "Deep?"
"More or less." He flinched. "Listen, do as I say- you got a fork in that basket?"
Biting your lip, you nodded.
---
His whole naked torso was covered in a thin sheet of sweat, and his breathing came out in irregular pants. You pushed the hair out of your face and frowned. The fork had touched the bullet the previous 2 times, but it had slipped. Blood gushed as if the wound were fresh when a couple of hours had already passed- and Envy had paled considerably.
"Try... once more," he instructed, his tone of voice firm even if his voice itself was wary. You nodded, and gave him the sleeve of his coat to bite on.
"One... two... now," you warned, and dug the fork into his wound again, the scream of total pain making its way past the helpful gag. It made your stomach churn, but nonetheless you kept your grip as firm and unaltered as possible. Slowly, slowly... A small drop of perspiration ran through the side of your face. Just... there.
"Out," you finally said, with a small smile of relief, and reached for the piece of blanket you'd turned into a handkerchief. With it, you wiped the sweat off his face.
He nodded, "Good. Now make sure the fire's strong."
Previously you'd used the fire from the oil lamp to light a decent bonfire, so you stirred it and revived it. When you'd done as instructed, he, strangely enough, asked for the metal fork, which was still bloody. He smirked sternly, placing the fork's hilt over the fire until it was so hot it'd turned red. You looked on curiously, but when you asked him what he was going to do, he didn't answer.
Your eyes widened unhealthily when he placed the red metal on the sides of his wound, and again, the scream escaped through his lips.
A disgusting stench of burnt flesh invaded your nostrils.
Paling once more from the loss of blood, he sat up a bit and spat the unpleasant taste of rust all the screaming had left in his mouth. He let his head fall heavily against the makeshift pillow made out of his clothes, and closed his eyes. You smiled at him slightly, and started wrapping the bandages around the now closed wound.
---
"Envy, are you awake?" you whispered.
After a sigh, he opened his eyes. "Yeah."
You adverted your eyes from his. "I can't sleep."
Those pretty violet eyes of his dedicated you an unreadable look.
"I can't get... today out of my head." You gazed at the forest behind him, "I would have given all I had to get away from Earnest... I thought that no matter what happened, it would be better than having to marry him..."
Even if Envy didn't have the smallest clue who on Earth Earnest was or whom you had been travelling with, talking it out, you thought, was way better than keeping it inside. A tear spilled from your eyes.
"You aren't fond of the guy, are you?"
You smiled sadly. "No, not really..."
Envy's lips traced a small smirk. "Let me read your mind: you're feeling guilty because your fellows died for your sake."
He didn't get an answer, but a couple of tears streamed down your cheek.
Closing his eyes, he kept smiling. "Not that I want to comfort you, but at the moment there was nothing you could have done to stop the fight. That's the way it works."
"I didn't react. I watched like an idiot as mr. and mrs. Breda were killed, and I didn't react..."
You hugged your knees, and placed your chin on your arms. "They didn't have to die."
Envy sat up with difficulty, and, was about to say something when a wince made him let out a painful sounding gasp. He cursed.
Snapping out of your depressive state, you sat upright and looked at him, worried.
"I'll live," he reassured you, not in the best of moods.
You bit your lower lip.
"Envy..." you shook your head," No...what's your name?"
He shrugged. "I thought we'd been through this..."
"Well... I know your name. But not your real name..."
"Tell me yours first," he said, with a sneaky glow in his eyes you didn't see.
"I'm Carol Anne Somber," you said, a bit confused so as to why he was asking that.
"It's nice."
"Thanks," you said, finally realizing he wanted to change topics. You laughed, and said, "Tell me yours so I can tell you the same thing."
He chuckled hollowly. "How sharp. It's Johann Elric."
By some mysterious reason, when he said his name you blushed. But letting that aside, you were sure that his surname rang a bell...
"It does sound kind of.. .familiar."
"Sure does," he muttered under his breath, a bit annoyed.
"Are you some kind of war hero?"
He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in form of a despective chuckle.
"That would be my father," he spat after pronoucing the word, and he did so with a note of loathe that you felt sorry for.
"What with him?" you asked, without realizing you were perhaps asking too much. Envy shrugged.
"He's a bastard," he said matter-of-factly, making you blush at the strong word. He noticed it and smirked slowly, and added, "He's that kind of pathetic, apacible-wannabe man who thinks that by stepping out of trouble the world's gonna stop turning."
Blink, blink. "What do you mean?"
"Alphonse... my youngest brother was killed by some smug redcoat Colonel, while he tried to protect Edward -middle brother, shrimp-. Edward was rash and got caught, and Alphonse died because if it."
"I'm sorry..." you said. "That's why you were fighting today, isn't it?"
Envy shrunk his shoulders. "Father decided we'd get revenge by siding millitarily with the rebels. He got a high rank because of his "war hero" reputation, and here I am, under his direct orders. You wouldn't think that a man that rants of freedom would play favorites with his sons."
"Play favorites?"
"Oh, yes. Like he would send Edward into battle. No, he sent me into battle, and told Edward to do the recruiting. And who's the one that ended shot in the gut? I'm only still alive 'cause I played dead. Those english bastards don't see past their snub noses." He mustered a wry smile.
You diverted your eyes from him.
"..."
---
You always liked sleeping late.
But that morning, your sleep was disturbed by something shaking you.
"Half an hour, mother," you muttered incoherently, and kept on sleeping.
"Wake up, you sloth! Ah, goddamit. Get OFF!"
You sat up, eyes still closed. The scent of fresh forest air washed over you, and, starting to realize you weren't precisely at home, you opened your eyes.
"Huh? Envy...?" You blinked, and let out a short laugh. "You weren't a dream after all."
He winced. "Damn you, you were using the hole in my gut as a pillow!" he barked, and winced again.
"The hole in..." you bit your lower lip, "Sorry, I didn't realise..." you flushed slowly.
"We didn't.... right?"
Envy blinked. "Didn't what?"
You chuckled nervously. "You know... didn't..."
He finally understood, and ended cracking up and laughing at your slightly embarrassed face. "Heh, of course we didn't."
"How are you feeling?" you interrupted. He stopped laughing and looked at you.
"I think I can't breathe without it throbbing. But nevermind, we should go."
"Yeah..."
"What?"
You smiled sheepishly. "Five minutes more?"
He rolled his eyes.
"You're hopeless, Slothy."
----
"You helped him stand up. "Alright so far?"
"Even if I wasn't it's not like we have a choice."
You chuckled smally, and picked up the basket. "Why are you so grim?" Looking up, you saw he was eyeing you oddly. Like he was surprised anyone'd ask him that question. You chuckled some more.
"Come on, let's get going."
He passed his arm over your shoulders and you grabbed hold of him, like the previous day, and you started walking towards where -Envy was convinced- the road was. The forest surely looked very different in the morning than it did at night.
Envy's royal blue coat was tucked below the sheets inside the basket, in case you happened to encounter redcoats in the way. He'd even suggested asking them for a hitch if, you did encounter them. You'd laughed.
When finally the road became visible, you sat down, still inside the forest, to catch your breaths- but especially so that Envy could rest for a while. Each time he took a step, he winced, and you were afraid that was too much strain on his wound.
Plopping down next to him, you looked at the sky, visible beyond the branches, and asked, "From this point, what's nearer? Marion or Conway?"
"Conway," he answered, "It's considerably nearer."
You nodded. "How much?"
Envy sighed. "Walking, we'll be lucky if we arrive before sunset."
"Someone will pick us up," you said with conviction. "You'll be my brother, wounded by accident in the crossfire."
He snorted at the comment. "Yeah, because we look so much alike."
Letting out a happy laugh, you rectified, "Ok, you'll be my fiance, wounded by accident in the crossfire."
"Suits me," he breathed.
"You know, Envy... before I met you I thought the rebels were just a bunch of farmers with pitchforks," you confessed, with a coy smile.
He sighed. "If it was that way, our country would be pretty much doomed."
"What's wrong?" you asked, seeing his displeasured look.
"That the rebels are a bunch of farmers with pitchforks." He sighed. "But they mean well."
You laughed. "Oh Envy, you're awesome."
---
No one picked you up.
It was walk and stop, walk and stop, and you were starting to suspect there was something wrong with his leg, too. You winced for him, as it didn't look like he was going to give up.
"Stop doing that," he grunted, spying you from the corner of his (very violet, very narrowed,) eye. "And speed up, we got to get to that town of yours before night."
"Why are you so hurried?" you asked with a sigh, "You know your leg's not well, right?"
He scoffed. "Of course I know it isn't. But sitting around will do no good, and... shit." If he hadn't been supporting yourself on you, he'd had stumbled real bad. You held onto him, but he clutched his leg and hissed, "You win, let's rest for a while."
You helped him to the side of the road, which stretched on and on in the middle of a green, lazy countryside.
He cursed. "We're not going to get anywhere like this."
After that, silence fell, and it wasn't until later that he said, "If the redcoats catch me, they'll hang me. I can't risk sitting here happily until one comes and arrests me."
"But Envy, they have no way of knowing you're a rebel..."
"Oh no, of course they haven't," he said sarcastically, "I'm a wounded guy with a non-British accent. It isn't hard to put two and two together."
"You could always say you got hurt with a pitchfork..." you offered.
He dedicated you a that-wasn't-funny glare, and said, looking serious, "They'd arrest you too."
You oh-ed. "Don't worry, now. I think it's been enough rest, so what do you say if I tell you we should go on, get to Conwell before sunset, as planned?"
He chuckled. "I'd say you started to take this seriously when I told you you were in danger too."
"E-Envy!!! That's not true!!!" You wailed.
He chuckled again. "Indeed, I think it's time to go."
---
It was exactly the moment of dusk when everyone was either inside cooking or outside looking for firewood.
The town was melancholic and deserted. You halted at the entrance, and Envy's eyes questioned you without much interest.
"I don't want..."
You looked at him, feeling impotent knowing there was nothing you could do to help what you were about to do.
"If I walk into this town, I'll have to..." you swallowed hard, "I'll have to get married, and I don't want that."
He gazed at the place, and for a while there was silence.
"You seem firm on that, " Envy finally said, "Run away or something."
"Who would take me, if I did? A woman with no family or background..."
Envy didn't have time to answer, because suddenly someone called your name. It felt it was the beginning of the end.
"Carol! My dear, where have you been? We've been waiting for you since yesterday!" Your mother was running down the main street, towards you. Envy quickly moved aside.
She was next to you and hugging you in no time. "Honey, are you alright? Are you hurt? Where are mr. and mrs. Breda?"
"They're... dead, mother. We got caught in the crossfire between rebels and redcoats."
Your mother stopped hugging you and looked into your eyes. You bit your lower lip. As gradually your worry infected her, she noticed Envy for the first time.
"Who's that?" she asked.
"Johann Elric, ma'am," he said quickly. "Your daughter probably saved my life."
She beamed at you despite the bad news you'd just told her. "My heroine... let's go, Earnest and your father are waiting for you in the house."
Turning to Envy, she smiled and said, "You can join us for dinner, young man. And why, your name sounds familiar..."
"That statement is becoming a habit," he thought, completely unamused. But he explained, with the plainest tone of voice he could muster, "I'm Hohenheim Elric's son, ma'am. And I'd be glad to accept that invitation."
---
Of course, when your mother had learnt that Envy was no other than Hohenheim Elric's son, and that he had to take care of a serious wound, she insisted he stayed the night in Earnest's father's estate. Envy's pride had already been mutilated, so he didn't have much of a moral issue with accepting the help. It was room, warmth, aid and food free. Come on! Besides, if he wanted to leave (and boy he did,) the only thing he could do was wait until the following day: he'd have to stay the night in Conwell, anyway.
Your mother had been talking to the reverend of Saint Mary's church- a sophisticated cart was waiting for her, and on it you and Envy climbed, and the moment he was inside it you heard the two female slaves that had come with your mother exchange murmurs of approvation towards him. Cough cough. You rolled your eyes.
The ride was silent until Earnest's family lands came into view.
The estate was a large, signorial white house, with many rooms, many servants, and an aristocratic air that reminded Envy of his mother's side of the family. His mother's family always struck him as snobbish, cold, and petulant, and the overly neat and expensive estate left in him that very same impression.
He wasn't terribly fond of it.
The rooms were all on the second floor. When asked, Envy just said he'd rather skip dinner (he certainly wasn't in the mood for formalities. He didn't need snobby aristocrats shooting him disapproving glances with regards the state of his clothing, and he certainly didn't need them pre-judging him just because he was that bastard's son. He hadn't chosen it, but no one looked about to let him live it down. That aside, he felt like shit.) But you subtly suggested you could have someone take it to his room... He said he didn't mind it, then.
You'd laughed.
---
Dinner had consisted, for you, in cold, suspicious looks thrown at your person. Everyone (but Earnest. He was a good guy,) seemed to think you'd gone around incurring in mortal sins or something. You just wished it all would end and you could be safe below your covers.
But as you sat, after the desserts, on a sofa in the living room, with everyone giving you the same cold looks you'd been giving during supper, it started to become evident that you weren't going to be safe even under your covers.
From his room, Envy could hear with details everything that was taking place downstairs:
"CAROL ANNE!" Your father yelled, in front of your mother, Earnest, and Earnest's father, "You've dishonored your promise!"
You frowned. "B-but, father..."
"Staying the night with a total stranger- no, worse. With a revolutionary! What were you thinking!?"
"Father! I didn't have another option, I was alone, mr. and mrs. Breda died in the crossfire--"
"Unacceptable! There could have always been a way---"
"There wasn't!" you said, trying to stand in your defence even if it didn't make much difference.
"Arthur," Earnest's father addressed yours, "Is the girl still a virgin?"
You flushed from head to toes. "Of course I'm---"
"Silence," your father commanded. "Learn your place, Carol."
You looked at Earnest and saw him wink at you, before he said, "Father, I could never marry her if her honor is questionable."
You breathed out in relief. Unexpectedly, the matter of marriage was starting to dissolve into a cloud of smoke, and that would be convenient for both him and you. Then he could go back to his Rose girlfriend, and you would be free to choose whomever floated your boat.
You smiled contentedly, and from there onwards the bickering and discussing between your elders became a distant noise.
---
You silently opened the door and rushed into the room.
Envy looked at you with a look that could only be described as: "...?"
"Sorry for being so sudden," you explained, "But if my father caught me..."
He closed his eyes and chuckled.
"They didn't go easy on you," he noted.
It was hard to fight the grin back. "Perhaps Earnest's father will break the engagement!"
"That Earnest guy didn't seem exactly happy at you either."
You shook your head with a smile. "He was as excited as me... but the part he had to play was of disappointment."
Envy oh-ed. "I see."
You sat on the chair next to his bed. "My father's gonna kill me when we get back home. He really wanted me to marry Earnest."
"He'll kill you at least 2 times more if he finds you here," Envy pointed out.
"You don't look pleased, Envy..."
"I was hoping that I could get a horse and ride the hell away from here as soon as we arrived," he replied.
"Why?" you asked, frowning, and a bit concerned.
"Because maybe I'm growing too fond of you," he said under his breath.
You smiled softly. "How's the wound?"
"Will have to do. I'm leaving tomorrow."
"I see... well, I better go before anyone finds me here." You stood up. "Good night."
"..." Envy closed his eyes after you'd left the room.
---
You were having breakfast, the next morning, when your mother sat down next to you with a gloomy look. "Carol, dear..."
Looking up from your cup of tea, you hmm-ed.
"Earnest's father cancelled the wedding plans."
You beamed. "That's great!" you exclaimed, doing nothing to hide your excitement.
But your mother bit her lower lip, and said, "I'm afraid your father has... other plans."
"W...what do you mean?" The smile quickly left your face.
"She means that as no man will take a woman whose honor is questionable..." your father said, walking into the kitchen and placing his hand on your mother's shoulder.
"My honor's not questionable!" you said, barely believing what you were hearing, "I got lost one night in a forest, just that!"
He dedicated you a severe glare, that clearly meant 'don't talk to me like that'. You bit your lower lip, since you didn't like the course the matter was taking.
"Your mother and I decided religion would be a good option for you, since marriage is obviously out of question."
"Religion...!" you repeated, letting the cup you were holding slip from your grasp and fall onto the table, spilling the tea that was left on the wood. "...No... no way! You can't make me go nun!"
"Don't talk about something sacred with that tone of voice, Carol Anne!", your father reprimanded.
Your mother added, in a faint tone of voice, "We only do what we think is the best for you"
"B-but...."
The best you could do was stand up wordlessly and run out of the room.
---
"I can't believe they'll do that to me..."
"Come on, stop crying, it ain't the end of the world," Envy said, huffing.
"B-but..." You wiped your eyes. "I'm glad I bumped into you in the hallway."
"Strange coincidence," he mused.
---
"I told you, I can never get away from here." You looked up at the trees and sighed. "It's a miracle no one's come to pry me away from you and into some sort of chastity-preserving device."
Envy rolled his eyes. "Oddly, hearing you say that sounds wrong."
"I know," you said with a sigh. "I don't mind religion, but..." You frowned, and finally couldn't help it and a tear rolled down your cheek. "My life went hayware overnight."
He chuckled. "It really sucks to be you."
With a sigh, you had to agree. "...yes, it probably does."
"Look, doing noble stuff just isn't my type," he started, albeit reluctantly, "But I owe you one. So listen up, Slothy..."
Your eyes immediately went to him, open quite big and not understanding fully what he meant.
"We'll do this..." he whispered something into your ear.
Your eyes widened even more, if possible. "Are you really willing to...?"
"It's gonna be fake," he explained quickly. "But we'll get out of here, and then you can do whatever."
---
Envy planted himself in front of your father. Looking determined, he said, "Sir, can I marry your daughter?"
Your father turned round. "No."
Envy lifted an eyebrow. "No?" he thought, "Bastard."
"My daughter's honor has been defiled," he dedicated a very hard, severe, meaningful and DANGEROUS glare to Envy. He hissed inwardly.
"Thus," yur father went on, "It is only proper for her to make up for it, serving God the rest of her life."
Envy's eyes narrowed. "Very well, sir," he said... and your father missed completely the noxious tone of voice he'd used... the tone of voice only usable when you're about to take things personally and into your own two hands.
---
"These clothes feel funny," you commented, struggling into the boots. Envy stood in your room and looked out of the window... even if he looked like he was spazzing out, all of his acute senses were devoted to the task of making that decisive escapade as secret and neat as possible. Having previously weighed pros and cons of helping you run away from your shady-looking future, he'd finally reasoned this:
The following morning, when everyone discovered you were gone, would immediately blame it all on him -except probably Earnest, who knew of your feelings (he was a bit perceptive, unlike your or his family), and would surely figure out that the decision of running away had been mutual. Also, even though a search party was organised, they would never find you two: Envy knew the state a little bit too well. The worst that could happen would be that your family directed the blame at mr National Hero Hohenheim Elric and became openly British-supporters. But as if Envy cared about that. Besides, as he'd told you previously, his only intention was to repay you for saving his life- he'd get you to some other state or something, and then you'd go separate ways.
"I'm not sure about this..." you muttered, lowering your eyes. "It feels wrong. It feels... kind of, too drastic."
Envy supressed a grunt of annoyance. "I thought you'd made up your mind," he whispered fiercely. "You can't regret it later."
You looked at yourself in the mirror. The feeling you got was something between amusement and guilt, you just weren't used to see yourself wearing trousers and shirts, and much less those hideous boots. "It feels like I'm someone else..." you whispered, and turned to him, looking resigned. "I'm about to commit high treason...!"
He chuckled. "The night's gonna be over, and you'll still be snivelling in front of the mirror, Slothy."
You chewed on your thumb. "Can't help it..."
The moon shone brightly out of the open window. A chilly breeze blew in. "Let's go," he cooed suavely, with that mocking smirk plastered on his face. As on cue, a horse neighed below the window. He shrank his shoulders, and paced around the room.
"So?"
He got no answer.
"Envy, I think I... fancy you... a bit..." you looked down. "Well, a lot."
He certainly wasn't expecting such a confession, because his eyes immediately became calculating and predatory. As if he didn't really believe what you'd just told him.
You smiled slightly. "My, you're so distrustful. Of course I mean it. I don't only say it because you're getting me out of here."
"Don't make me feel like a damn knight in a shining armor, I might just turn back."
"Ok," you said with a laugh, "I won't."
He started going towards the window again. Stopping on the sill, he tested the ivvy that grew around it and started gowing down it. It's an overstatement to say he felt like Romeo, climbing the creeper and all. And he didn't precisely fancy it, but no one had to know about it, right? Getting caught in that moment would have made him pull his rifle's trigger on himself.
Back to the tangible world, he noticed you weren't following.
"Carol!" he barked in a whisper, which sounded pretty harsh. Somehow, your name in his lips sounded like he was scolding you. "Get serious," he breathed.
"Sorry, Johann..."
At the sound of his own name, his expression seemed to falter.
You chuckled silently, walking towards the windowsill and stopping right next to it, and without meaning to, standing really close to him. "Isn't it odd," you whispered, "Only feeling comfortable when talking to each other by names of sins?"
Smiling slightly, he whispered back, "I don't mind it. Do you?" he said, and you suddenly realized he was too close to you. And that he wasn't answering you, rather asking you a whole different thing. He took the lack of a reply as a confirmation, and passing his hand behind your head he kissed you.
You stood in your place, speechless, and sort of amazed.
He smirked. "What was that for?" he asked, voicing your thoughts out loud with a slight note of sarcasm. "Well, I was just playing my part of dramatic hero."
You let out a small chuckle. He had a very particular way of saying things.
Envy held out his hand for you to take it. You reached out to grab it, with a warm smile.
But he slapped your hand, and smirked again.
"And now, milady, I humbly invite you to invite yourself to freedom."
OWARI!
There is more in the results: Omake, and a preview for a possible part 2. Clicky!
Invitation to Freedom.
Now the double sense of the title is clear, no?
Oh.My.GOD! HE TALKED to me on MSN. HE! <3! "That person"! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh holy shitttttttttttttttttt..... and he talked to me FIRST! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
*dies of love*
You know what? I've just realised my Result Pages are always unconventional!
"I'm not sure about this..." That's something Sloth WILL say later on in the Envy quiz. And it's gonna be in an important situation, too xD I just used the textual words for the sake of autenthicity- or however you spell that xD
There are also some other textual phrases, used on purpose:
"So it wasn't a dream" - Sloth
"You're hopeless"- Envy
Quotes I didn't use:
-Pride, pride is a weakness
-I prefer stupidity
-Pride will do
-What's this?
-It stinks!!!
-It's because it used to contain a dead man
Hey, I have a doubt. When I wanted to name Sloth's father, the name "Arthur" came immediately to my mind. Isn't Integra Hellsing's father called Arthur too? o______O;;;
Oh, for your amusement (^_^U):
OMAKE 1:
The rebels held on and blocked the English advance. Meanwhile, in his headquarters, the English military commander, Lord King Bradley, thought, "Why am I attending balls in South Carolina when I should be attending balls in North Carolina?"
OMAKE 2:
"Alphonse... my youngest brother was killed by some smug redcoat Colonel, while he tried to protect Edward -middle brother, shrimp-. Edward was rash and got caught, and Alphonse died because if it."
Part 1:
Roy Mustang fumes at author: "DID you right now IMPLY I KILLED ALPHONSE!!!!"
Me: *shivers* "O-of course not, I only said a Colonel had killed him... Geeze, tell Riza to stop aiming that shotgun at my head!!! O___O;;;"
Black Hayate: *bark! bark!*
Part 2:
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP; YOU PRETTY BOY WITH A FATHER COMPLEX!"
*Envy snorts*
IMAGES ARCHIVE: (All the images used in this OneShot)
JOHANN
CAROL
FOREST SCENE
Ed and Al flashback scene.
"Sneak into Johann's room" scene :P
The horny "What a coincidence I met you in the middle of the hallway" scene
The horny end kiss scene xD
This story is (c) Marine, and it was published on April 29. But its writing began like 3 weeks before aforementioned date T_T
BTW! I was doodling in class the other day and came up with some ideas for a possible sequel that would include Ed, Hohenheim, Trisha, and a guest appearance by Roy Mustang, as "Redcoat Colonel Bastard" xD All you have to do is nag me a lot and sned me ideas, and I'll write. Here are the doodles! (Special: Envy on a swing! xD)
R&R!
