FullMetal Alchemist Falling in love with Envy

Staggering Truth

Lace upon silk, the dress is cozy to my body, its touch both light and soothing; it sat upon me like soft petals. I brushed my hair and let it flow in a braid, adding a small bow I found in front of the mirror.
I took a last glance at my reflection, questioning myself:
What was I doing?
How did I come to this?
When will this end?
Am I in danger?
Why now?
How is Mishka?
I found myself dazed and snapped myself back to reality. 'Get a hold of yourself. Go down, have some breakfast and get some energy into your body.' I thought to myself. The Fuhrer is a man of safety and the protector of our city; I'm pretty sure I'm safe here.
Three knocks at the door frightened for a moment."Breakfast is ready" Said an old man. I never heard him before."Coming!" I answered. I opened the door and saw a butler standing tall to the side of my room. Old and wrinkly but strong for his age. He gestured with his arm to walk by him to guide me to where I should be. There was a hug of breakfast upon the table. The sight and aroma of the food; the sweet scent of morning filtered coffee; all heartwarming. The sunlight streams golden through the window. The Fuhrer sat at the head of the table. His wife was at his left; their son Selim to his right."There you are!" The Fuhrer's wife said as soon as she saw me. She drew a smile on her face and motioned with her hand for me to join them at the table. I sat next to Selim and waited until someone began eating. "Coffee or tea?" the butler asked from behind me, making me jump in my seat. This man must have had stealth and quiet vampire as an added attribute to his resume."Coffee, please," I said in a sigh."Oh!" The Fuhrer commented, "Someone here is a coffee drinker!"I smiled at him as my coffee was getting poured into my cup. Wisps of hazy white rose from the hot liquid. I took the cup into my hands, feeling my tense muscles relaxing as I sipped. The butler rang a bell and said in his British accent: "Breakfast is ready!"
We had eggs fried in a brushing of oil. A spread of avocado over toast with a sprinkle of tomato on top as if to decorate it, and a few strips of crispy bacon. With each bite, I was savoring the taste. Every time I chewed, electric shocks of dopamine and serotonin rushed through me. "So, how are you feeling today ?" Mrs. Bradley asked.
"I am feeling better than before Mrs. Bradley; thank you."
"Wonderful! I hope you find the comfort you need during your stay here."
"Thank you, Mrs.you are very kind."
"There are a few rules you must follow during your stay here."
The Fuhrer continued as he sipped on his coffee. "I'm pretty sure you know most of the house because of your chase down by Envy, to which I apologize very much. He was doing his job."
"May I ask what his job exactly is?" I asked, trying to sound as respectful as possible.
"I will get to that shortly; but, now you must know a few rules about the mansion."
He began:"You may move around the house; but, you are not to enter any other bedroom that is not yours as well as my office. Breakfast will be at 7:00 AM, lunch at noon, and dinner at 9:00 PM; all here in the dining room. I am a very busy man and thus may not join you at mealtimes. You are free to come to the kitchen anytime you want to make your food if you were ever hungry. You are not allowed to leave this house, and you must stay under supervision if you were to go outside to the garden. Envy and Lust will be your two bodyguards if you wish to call them that. You have already met Envy before, and you will meet Lust soon. They will be switching turns according to their work schedules. Until we take care of this chaos, they will make sure to keep you safe."
"From what exactly? What is this chaos?" I asked. He looked at his wife, locked eyes with her for a few seconds then nodded. She nodded in agreement and asked Selim to come with her, leaving us alone to have a private conversation. As they left the room, the butler followed them closing the door behind him.How serious is the situation? What is going on? What does it all have to do with me? What does it all have to do with me? What, or who do I need protection from? I looked back at the Fuhrer to hear some answers."Beauty, what I am about to tell you is serious and is crucial for you to understand the truth. Your life is in danger. You are the daughter of the greatest scientist known to Central, a very magnificent man indeed."
"You knew my father?" I asked surprised. I never thought my father would be this much recognized. "What does my father have to do with my safety?"
"Your father was a genius man and all his research was marvelous and life-changing. He was able to answer a question no other scientist was able to find a solution for." I remained silent, listening .He continued. "Your father was the first man to achieve a serum that lengthens life and helps humans deceive death." I raised an eyebrow.
"A serum... You mean humans can use it and..."

"Become immortal." He continued, nodding his head.

"But, what does that have to do with me?"

" People have been trying to get their hands on your father's discovery. The fact that you are his daughter the research lies in the basement of your house, puts you under the spotlight."

"My mind blurred again at the thought of the basement; this morning's feeling of discomfort hit again. I rubbed my eyes to shake away the feeling but to no avail. "You're wondering why your head hurts, do you remember what happened yesterday?"

Yesterday? I can't even remember what happened so I would be here today.

"I'm pretty sure no matter how much you try you will not be able to remember what happened." He got up from his chair, hands behind his back and stood at the window. "What I am about to tell you may be painful to hear and comprehend. You must understand that all measures taken are to keep you safe. We were very fortunate to arrive on time yesterday to save you. We found you in the basement in complete hysteria, facing an intruder in your house."

"I went down to the basement?!" I asked shocked. I never stepped foot down there.

"You were holding a knife at him and we managed to arrive in the nick of time and had to put him down to save you. Yet, I am very sorry to tell you that this person was none other than Sir Alfred."
My eyes widened, my heart began racing, I couldn't believe what I heard. The Fuhrer turned to me and continued. "Alfred was a very dear friend to your father. At least that's what we thought. Your father trusted him too much,giving him the key to his own house, putting his and his family's life in danger."
"But, Alfred raised me after my parents passed away! He never hurt anyone!"
He handed me a book and told me to open to the first page. And so I did.
"A man who wouldn't hurt anyone wouldn't agree to make experiments on people now wouldn't they?"
My hands began shaking. The picture in my hand showed none other than Alfred and my father standing behind a corpse."Does this picture seem familiar to you?"
"I... I don't know..."
"This is the book of your father's research, that Alfred wrote with his pen. He kept notes about all the experiments that he and your father were doing down in that basement. You have seen this before when you were having dinner at Alfred's house. Isn't that correct Beauty?"
I let go of the picture and hide my face in my hands, not able to digest what I was hearing."But why would Alfred hurt me? This doesn't make any sense!"
"Alfred went back to that basement searching for the notebook your father kept. A notebook containing the answers that Alfred needed to re-create that serum. When you went down there and discovered him, he was not hesitant to remove you out of his way. He was willing to do anything to get to what he wanted. He hit you with a needle that was rendering you unconscious. Which explains your headaches and blurry memory."
"Please stop! I can't believe what I'm hearing!"
"This is the truth Beauty. You must understand the danger of your father's research on your life and the life of so many people."
"I thought you said it was a life serum, a serum that would make people immortal how was that a harmful thing?"
"I'm glad you asked! If the serum had fallen in the wrong hands catastrophes will occur. What we know so far about the serum is that it needs one vital ingredient. Countless lives will be gone if we do not keep it safe from the outside."
"What do you mean? What is this ingredient?"He pushed the picture closer to me and said with a soft smile. "Take a closer look."I glanced at the photo trying my best to keep composure; struggling to find what he is talking about. After further inspection, I gasped and sat upright in my chair hiding the photo with my hand. I looked at the fuhrer, his facial expressions calm, not even affected by what I had learned. Instead, he smiled and said:"You are as smart as your father! Now, finish your breakfast and think of what to do with your day. I heard you were very fond of books! We have a library filled with them! I will let Envy take you there."
He spoke then made his way towards the door. Before exiting the room, he stopped in place and said:"I hope you enjoy your stay here. I want you to know you are safe, as long as you follow the rules."

Left in silence. The information sank deep into my brain, but it was hard to digest such things. Tears fell down my cheeks. What I thought my father to be was completely the opposite. I thought he was a hero, trying to make the world a better place. Little did I know, he was killing people in our basement.