Stand by You

XXII

Edward sat down next to me. "Hey, Eve," he mumbled.

"Hey," I mumbled back, exhausted. My whole body ached from all the action today and from the lack of time spent in recovery. All I wanted to do was lay down on the wooden planks and sleep until all this crap was over. I could feel my head swooning like a drunk as I leaned on Edward's shoulder. He held my hand and brushed aside the long strands on my matted hair off my face, kissing my forehead. A small gesture, but I appreciated it.

Then, a door opened as I snapped my head back up, thinking it was the Colonel as I was pretending to be awake. A Xingese man stepped in and Edward and I stood up. He came over to where we were and sat down in defeat, looking grief-stricken and anxious. "I'm sorry..." Edward started.

"Don't misunderstand," he snapped. "I'm the one who propositioned you. It was in both our interests, so I worked together with you, that's all. I left the country knowing that if I was going to seek immortality, I would have to be ready to make certain sacrifices."

"I'm assuming that she is an accompanying soldier...?" I whispered to Alphonse.

"Bodyguard," Alphonse corrected.

Hearing that, I stepped in to comfort this man. "That girl in the room has promised her life to protect you," I told him. "She knows of the consequences and pain that will come with her job. Do not blame yourself for everything that happens to her. We bodyguards know very well that we sacrifice everything until we have nothing left to protect the ones we have to protect."

The man gave me a pained look and I knew I only made things worse. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "That probably sounded cold--"

"No, you're right," he clenched his bandaged hand. "Lan Fan was, and will be, more prepared for this then I ever will."

*~*~*~*~

After a few hours, Lan Fan, the Xingese's man bodyguard began to regain consciousness. She opened her eyes weakly, a cool rag on her forehead as she took in her surroundings. Her left arm was completely removed, save for a stump, and covered in bandages. Dr. Knox was cleaning his tools, glad his patient had survived the extreme surgery as Colonel and Lieutenant Hawkeye talked amongst each other. "Are you alright?" Alphonse asked her.

"Is there anything we can do?" Edward asked as well.

"Your trap wasn't all that bad," Alphonse comforted her to ease the pain of missing an arm.

"But I'm useless now," she sighed. "I need a replacement arm."

"I can set you up with a great automial mechanic!" Edward offered.

Lan Fan smiled gratefully as I stepped outside to let the Xingese man know his bodyguard was awake and alive. Colonel was already out there and he held out a hand for him. "State Military Colonel Roy Mustang," he introduced himself. "This young lady here is one of my subordinates, State Alchemist Evelyn Joyce."

He stood up and clapped he hands together as if he was praying. "Ling Yao, twelfth son of the Emperor of Xing," he introduced himself before shaking his hand with Colonel . "I'm grateful to you for providing a doctor."

"Not at all," he smiled softly. "Thank you for helping out with the Maria Ross incident. As well as this one."

He opened the door, revealing a writhing bald man. He wore a skintight dark brown-black suit just exposing his arms, which had lines with circles on them. He was struggling, stuck in a literally ball, tied together with wire. Edward, Alphonse, and Dr. Knox arrived looking into the room as well. "Huh, what is that?" Dr. Knox asked.