Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Eye of the Beholder ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

Eye of the Beholder

 

LadyMad

 

Four

 

Ed was jarred awake by a loud banging on his door. A woman's scream echoed throughout the hall and then a slap chased it. Angry, Ed tossed the blankets away and walked to the door. A repeated thud rang in his half-conscious ears and he almost threw up at the thought of what was occurring on his door. He threw it open and a half-drunken man sprawled in on top of a half-naked woman, tears streaking her face. She looked about nineteen and scared to death, her shirt ripped open and pants hugging her knees which were pushed up against her chest.

 

“Who the fuck do you think you are!?” Ed screamed, ripping the man from the girl and throwing hi out of the room. The girl could barely sit up. Ed guessed that her stomach and thighs hurt too much to do anything. The man got up and pulled his pants together before stalking to Ed and making a swing at him. Ed pulled an uppercut and caught the guy in the jaw and then caught him in the stomach with an elbow. He then kicked the drunken man in the groin and punched him, all the while, pushing him back until he fell through the rail and onto a table below him.

 

Remembering the girl because of her whimpers, Ed walked to her and lifted her up into his arms, taking her into the bathroom. He walked from the bathroom, closed the bedroom door, and walked back into the bathroom to run some water. He looked into the girl's endless blue eyes and tucked a lock of her dark brown hair behind her ear.

 

“I'm Edward Elric. What's your name?” He asked gently. He knew he didn't look much better than the man he just saved her from with his unshaven face and light rings beneath his eyes. For a few minutes she didn't say anything to him just stared into his golden orbs as he looked between her and the water in the tub. When it was filled enough, he helped her to stand up and undressed her while helping her to balance on shaky legs. She sank into the tub and covered herself immediately. Ed lowered his eyes in shame.

 

“Ariyca.” She said in a shaky voice as he was about to leave the room. Ed turned around. “My name is Ariyca. And thank you.” Ed smiled for the first time in years and turned, closing the door to give her more privacy.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Ariyca walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her torso tightly. Her hair was matted and her body was covered in water droplets but she wasn't shaky and didn't look scared out of her mind anymore. Ed looked up at her and immediately looked down.

 

“Uh…um, I don't have any clothes with me right now. My shirt is t…”

 

“It's okay. I can loan you a shirt. Your other clothes didn't appear too bad.” Ariyca smiled.

 

“Thanks, for everything. I don't believe I've ever had anyone be this kind to me.”

 

“Neither have I.” Ed responded, getting up and pulling a shirt from his bag across the room. “Maybe one day the favor will be returned to me.” He tossed the shirt and Ariyca reached out a bit to get it, still keeping her arms close to her sides to keep the towel up.

 

“Maybe.” She walked back into the bathroom, didn't even close the door, and pulled the shirt on, tossing the towel across to the tub. She pulled her underwear on and walked into the bedroom where Ed lie on the bed, hands behind his head, looking up at the white ceiling. “I really do thank you.” Ariyca said as she sat on the bed next to him, her legs curled up under her. Ed looked at her with half a smile.

 

“Don't worry about it. I've done too many bad things to let that slide.” He turned his head back up and continued looking at the ceiling. Ariyca looked around the room and noticed an armchair. She looked at Ed, eyed the chair, and rose to walk to it when Ed got up and went to the closet. “They usually put an extra blanket and pillow in these rooms.” He pulled a set down and sat in the chair. “Go ahead. Go to sleep. You need it right now.”

 

“Sorry, but from the looks of you, you need it more badly than I do.”

 

“That's not the point.” Ed curled up in the chair, the pillow on the back, and closed his eyes. In mere moments, he was out. Ariyca looked at him, how his chest rose and fell with each breath. Even in his sleep, his breathing was ragged and rough. He had to have had a hard life. Not even sleep brought him solace. She closed her eyes half way and then looked up at him. Lying back on the pillow, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

“Brother, do you think we'll ever find the Philosopher's Stone?” Al asked, looking down at his older brother from within the suit of armor that was now his body. Ed held his breath for a moment, trying to think of what to say. He finally let it out and looked up at his brother with a smile crossing his face.

 

“Of course we will, Al.” Al smiled in his voice and looked back down the road.

 

“I hope we find it soon. I'm getting kinda home sick.” Al sighed.

 

“Me, too, Al. Me, too.” Ed said with a deep sigh.

 

His eyes fluttered open and then met a pair of deep blue ones. Ariyca looked down at him with a smile that reminded him of…Winry. A sadness crept over his being but he ignored it.

 

“I already ordered breakfast. I…uh, I didn't know what you wanted so I got a bunch of stuff.” Ed sat up and looked at the cart filled with breakfast foods and pitchers. “There's orange juice, coffee, apple juice, grape juice…a few different kinds of juice.”

 

“You didn't have to do this for me, Ariyca.”

 

“I think I did. I mean, you saved me. I had to repay you some how.” Ed looked at her with a gentle smile and walked to the cart. He took one of the two plates and began to pile food on it. When he was done with that, he grabbed a cup and poured some of the first juice he saw. He then sat back and dug in. Ariyca also began to fix a plate for herself.

 

Half of the cart was gone by the time the two had finished. Ariyca looked small but she sure could eat. Ed sat back for a moment and then got up and walked to the bathroom. He started a shower, undressed, and got in, letting the water roll down his body. He washed his hair and was finishing rinsing it when a soft knock on the shower door made him stop and turn his head. Ariyca stood at the door, completely nude, her eyes intent on Ed's eyes. She didn't wait for an answer before opening the door and walking in with him.

 

He turned around and looked down at her as her eyes traveled over his body. She placed her hands on his chest and rose gently to her tiptoes, pressing her own lips to his. Ed didn't resist the desire running through his body or the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He hooked his hands around her thighs and lifted her up to his waist. Ariyca's legs wrapped around his thin middle as she carefully lowered herself down until he was fully inside her. Her back up against the shower wall, he thrust up into her, Ariyca meeting his every movement.

 

She rested her head on the wall, letting out soft moans along with her heavy breathing. He groaned with every thrust, slowly building to the peak. Her head came forward again, eyes closed. With every thrust he sped up until they were both moaning. Ariyca let out a whimper but Ed paid no heed to it. He kept going, faster with every breath until he exploded inside her. Her walls constricted around him until she came and moaned something inaudible. Knees weak, Ed fell to the shower's floor. Ariyca sat on his lap, still around him, her head back against the wall panting for her breath. The water fell around him but he didn't move his legs too weak. It had been some time since he'd done that standing up. His legs hadn't been ready for it.

 

“Next time, we take the bed.” He said under his breath but not really to her.

 

“Deal.” She said anyways.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Xandyr sat in a chair near the window to the room. She felt what had just happened between that woman and Edward. She ignored the sudden pain in her heart, mistook it for breathing a wrong way. It couldn't mean anything much; after all, she knew they'd do it again next chance they got. Why it hurt to think that Edward was holding another woman, Xandyr couldn't begin to tell. Truthfully, she didn't want to. It was better left alone. Something from Ed's past was to soon be brought up. Xandyr didn't know what exactly but she feared it wouldn't have a good impact on Edward.

 

Edward and the woman suddenly walked form the inn, Ed's bag slung over his shoulder. They were saying something to each other but Xandyr couldn't hear what it was. She figured she'd best go sign herself out and be on the road again, following her former alchemist.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

The gates of the city were well guarded, looking more like a fortress than a city. Ed looked up the huge walls to the soldiers standing guard on the top of the wall. People filed in, being checked and searched as they walked through the gates. The guards checked everything from handbags to piled up hair to carts filled and covered.

 

“It looks like they're looking for something.” Ariyca said as they stood at the back of the line.

 

“Wonder what it is.” Ed responded as he walked a group of women walk from the city. Lingering not far from the line, Ed spotted a cloaked figure standing in the shadows of the wall. He was becoming suspicious of anyone wearing a cloak. He'd noticed at least one cloaked person trailing somewhere near him for the past five years now. It never occurred to him until now that the son-of-a-bitch might actually be following him. “Ariyca, stay here and keep our spot. I'll be right back.” Ariyca was about to ask where he was going but decided against it when she saw him walking toward the cloaked person near the wall.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Xandyr looked at him and noticed that he was looking between the gates and her. To him, she appeared as a simple person drenched in a dark cloak but he might be catching on. Her suspicions were definite when she saw him say something to the woman and walk toward her. Xandyr's heart skipped a beat. She bowed her head and began walking away from him. She could sense the curiosity in him and felt his presence come steadily closer to her. She quickly but calmly rounded the corner and tried to blend in to the shadows around her. She sensed Edward turn the corner and look around. His eyes touched her twice but he couldn't see her. Disappointedly, he turned around and walked back to the line.

 

Xandyr sighed in relief as he walked away. She was hoping he would have without her having to blend into the shadows but that didn't matter. He had walked away, nonetheless. When she gathered herself again and walked from behind the corner and out of the shadows, he was gone inside the city. Taking in a deep breath, she blended into the shadows and slipped through the gate unnoticed by the guards. As soon as she was inside, she went in search for Edward. He and the woman were looking for an inn, that much was certain. She couldn't help but wonder how long she would be sticking around with him. The woman, only a year older than herself, annoyed her to a point that made Xandyr just want to run the woman through but death couldn't be handed out by her. That wasn't her job, protecting Edward Elric was.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

They turned into an inn and walked to the front desk. A black haired woman stood at the counter looking through a book, most likely the sign-in book. Ed cleared his throat and the woman looked up.

 

“Can I help you?” She asked her voice small.

 

“We'd like to check out a room for two.” Ed responded. She nodded.

 

“Your names.”

 

“Ed and Ariyca Elric.” Ed said quickly. Confused but trying to hide it, Ariyca looked past the woman and at the keys on their numbered hooks. The woman turned around and picked two keys off of a hook.

 

“Room number 37 on floor two.” Ed nodded and turned away, taking Ariyca's hand to lead her away from the desk. Drawing herself from her confusion, she walked quickly to Ed's side.

 

“Why did you give her your last name as mine?” Ariyca asked.

 

“I'm not sure.” She knew he was lying but left it at that. They found the room rather quickly and walked inside, Ed discarding the bag on the floor.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Xandyr stood in the doorway of the inn. She had heard Ed give Ariyca his name. Why did it break her so harshly that he might b in love with this woman he didn't even know? She held back a handful of tears and registered herself into a room. The moment she got there, she lied on the bed and fell fast asleep, a stream of tears falling down her face and over her nose to rest on the pillow beside her.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

A/N: Well, forth chapter and they still haven't met. I can assure you that it's coming up in the next few chapters. So, how's it going so far? Is it kinda slow? I expect it will wind down for a bit and then pick back up so hang in there.