"On Thursday you have a meeting with the newly elected leader of Dracma," Hawkeye began, reading a list from a clipboard she was holding, "then on Saturday there's the inspection of the newly constructed Southern Command Center,"
"They finally finished that?" Roy chuckled, "It's about time. I thought that was supposed to be finished months ago,"
"That's correct sir but with all the storms that they've been having they've been putting off construction,"
"Understandable. Don't I have a dinner event on Sunday? Or was it Monday?"
"Don't strain yourself too hard sir, we both know you have a terrible time remembering things,"
"You know since I've become Führer you haven't become any nicer to me,"
"Sorry sir, it's hard to kick old habits,"
Sighing, Roy leaned back in his chair, rubbing circles into his temple. Even in this time of peace he was always busy. Why did it seem like Grauman was always relaxed when he was in charge? At this rate he didn't think he would ever make it home for the next couple of weeks.
"Are you even listening sir?" Hawkeye snapped lightly.
"Oh, sorry Hawkeye. Please, continue,"
"I was saying that the madam Führer also has an invitation to this dinner if she wishes to attend. Out of the two of you the public seems to be more in love with her. Not that they're saying that they don't enjoy you as a Führer, but they feel like Aileana is more relatable,"
"I can never win. Alright, I'll ask her once I return home this evening if she wants to come with me. Any new information from Miles and Scar in Ishval? Last I heard they had almost the entire state rebuilt,"
"Yes. We've word that nearly all the accounted Ishvalan refugees have returned. Though, there are always those who are not accounted for so it could still take another few weeks. Once that's completed they both would like you to attend a small ceremony signifying the reestablishment of Ishval,"
"Of course. Tell them to just give me the word once everything is done,"
"Understood. That brings us to the end of major events for the next two weeks. I'll make sure to contact you in case anything changes,"
"Does that mean I can go home now? I want to surprise Ily by coming home early. It's almost her birthday so I want to do something nice for her,"
"I had no idea, I'll have to get her something," she smiled a bit as she began to walk to the door.
"You don't have to ya know, it's not required,"
"Yes, but you forget that the madam Führer and I are friends, so I'd be more than happy for me to get her a gift,"
Dear Mom and Dad,
I wish the two of you were here! I'm learning so much from Mr. Alphonse and I feel like I'll have no problem with the exam. So far he says I have a real knack for agricultural alchemy so I think we're going to focus more on that for a while. Mr Edward came home for a little bit to see Trisha and Maes (who keep saying we all need to visit soon!) and to see how things were going for me. Miss May says that she and Mr. Alphonse may be having another baby after Catherine so that's pretty exciting!
I've only been gone a few weeks but I really do miss it at home. If dad gets some time to come out here, the rest of you should come visit. Also, Ms Winry says that we should take home one of Den's puppies since they just had another litter. I think it's a really great idea so we should try to convince dad!
Love you all,
Rosie
Aileana continued to sit and read the letter long after the servants had come to clear the table. Rosie was correct; it had only been a few weeks since she had left but it felt like years to Aileana. This was such an important thing for her and though she wanted to pull her daughter back and teach her everything she knew, she also knew that with everything Alphonse had not only learned but had been through he would be a much better teacher for her.
Sighing, she finally stood was the table and walked about the mansion. At the moment she was there on her own, aside from the staff, with Russell being at school and Roy being at work, to put it bluntly she felt bored. The whole transition from former state alchemist to Madam Führer complicated everything she did now. While the country was more or less in a state of peace, she was still not permitted to leave anywhere without some sort of bodyguard in the instance something should happen. She understood why Roy was still enforcing this, but sometimes she really just wanted to walk about the streets, seeing her fellow citizens and talking with them about their day. She also wanted to do something within the government as well. Roy refused to allow her to work after the Promised Day, after everything that had happened and that drove her crazy more than anything else. The only thing she was really allowed was to oversee the yearly State Alchemist exams and even that was a long shot some years.
Deciding she needed to get out of the house, Aileana called for Joshua to bring a car around so she could go to Central Command.
"If I may ask ma'am," he looked a bit shocked, but had called for the car anyway, "why do you need to go to Central Command? Is everything ok?"
"Everything is just fine," she smiled a bit, "to be frank, I'm bored and need to talk with my husband about allowing me to be a part of things again,"
"I do feel sad when you're here alone when master Russell is at lessons and the Führer is working,"
"Thank you Joshua, that means a lot to me. I hopefully shouldn't be long, but in case I am could you let the cook know to let Russell have his usual snack after school?"
"Of course ma'am," he bowed, "I hope things are fruitful for you,"
"Thank you, I hope they are," she slung her bag over her shoulder and met the car at the bottom of the main entrance stairs.
The ride to Central Command was short and Aileana kept thinking to herself that she could have just walked there but knew that Roy would never allow it, but she climbed out of the car and nodded to the soldiers who stood guard outside. Since she technically wasn't 'active duty' anymore, she tended to not salute them back when they saluted her.
There was really no way of knowing just how Roy was going to take this proposition from her, but after seven long years of this, she just couldn't take it anymore. Walking through the halls of Central Command always brought back... memories if you were able to call them that. Riza said that it was more than likely a form of PTSD that she was going to have to work through to move on from it. Even after seven years it was easier to remove the stains of blood off the concrete than it was from behind her eyes.
Once she reached Roy's door, she let out a sigh and mentally prepared herself. She had been married to Roy for so many years now and she should have his behavior figured out by now, but there were still some days that surprised her. Once she felt like she was prepared enough, she put her hand on the knob and pushed it open swiftly.
The office was just as she had remembered it, but the secret wall that once lead to Father's hiding place had long since been sealed off. The bookcases still held the same volumes Roy insisted on having in his office though Aileana couldn't remember the last time he had honestly read them. He also must not have either known it was her or that the door was opened at all since he hadn't looked up from whatever he was working on.
Deciding to have a little fun while she was at it, Aileana strolled up to the desk, saluted him, and used the best soldier voice she could must.
"Permission to speak freely sir," she barked out just has she had heard so many soldiers before her say.
"I don't remember calling for anyone," he still hadn't looked up, "but permission granted: what can I do for you?"
"You see sir, I have this problem. My husband refuses to allow me to take part in anything and I figured I could have you talk with him about it,"
"I'm afraid I can't really help there, that's going to have to be a conversation you'll... have to have with him..." he had finally looked up and saw the smirk that was now on his wife's face.
"But I figured you could make an exception, just this once,"
"Ily," he walked around the desk to give her a quick kiss, "I didn't know you were going to be stopping in today; why didn't you give me a call first?"
"I wanted to surprise you," she wasn't lying about that at all, "there was also something I had to talk to you about,"
"What is it? Is everything alright? Are Rosie and Russell ok?" he started to panic, holding onto her hands tightly.
"No, no, no," she matched his grip to make him look at her, "everything is fine dear. We actually got a letter from Rosie today saying everything is going well,"
Letting out a sigh, he released her hands and leaned against his desk. For the past few years Roy was terrified that something horrible was going to happen; something terrible always does after so many years of happiness. It seemed to happen to him every couple of years and the thought that it could happen again, after everything that's already happened, crushed him.
"So what's on your mind then?"
"Exactly what I said: my husband refuses to allow me to take part in anything because he's afraid something is going to happen-"
"We're not having this conversation again Ily,"
"- after I've already been healed from all my medical issues!" she wasn't going to back down this time. She was an adult and should be allowed to make her own decisions on what she wanted to do, regardless if her husband was the Führer or not.
"But isn't spending time at home with Russell and relaxing after all these years good enough?" he rubbed her arms gently, "Not to mention you get to go home whenever you like now,"
"Roy that's beside the point," she shook her head, "I told you when you became Führer that I wanted to work beside you and I can't work beside you if I'm not working with you at all,"
"What if something were to happen to you? Do you have any idea what that would do to me? What it would do to our children?"
"Don't you dare play that card Roy Mustang," she stepped away from him, "this is a conversation about us, don't bring the children into this,"
"I'm serious Aileana," he stood now, holding her tightly in his arms, "I have a terrible feeling about all this,"
She hesitated for a moment, then wrapped her arms around him to console him. Roy hardly ever used her full name, generally it was her nickname or Madam Führer if he was trying to be funny, Roy also worked through his gut; generally if he had a bad feeling it nearly always came into being.
"I know you want me to be safe," she said slowly, "but I need to do something with myself or I'm going to go crazy. I can't just sit around at home waiting for you and Russell to get home. Isn't there something I can do to keep me occupied?"
"Just... just give me time to think about something ok? I want to make sure you're going to be safe with whatever you'll be doing,"
"And I don't mind that, I just..." she looked out the window for a moment, sighing before she turned back to him, "I just don't want to be locked inside those walls because you're afraid of what lies on the outside,"
He couldn't lie; that had been his plan since taking office. The world was still a dangerous place, and he had already come close to losing her twice; there was no way in hell that he was going to allow the world to try to take her again. But he also couldn't lie with her reasoning or the fact that she was growing bored in her long hours of solitude.
"I promise I will find the best position for you," he nodded, squeezing her arms lightly, "in the meantime, we both have invitations to a dinner party next Monday evening. Of course, it'll be formal and you'll have to be on your best behavior,"
"If I do recall, it is I who is well behaved and on more than one occasion I had to calm you down," she laughed, kissing him on the top of his head, "I'll prepare one of my dresses. Who else will be attending?"
"In all honesty, I can't remember, but I believe that Ling will be there,"
"That would be amazing! We haven't seen Ling since he became Emperor!"
"I know, it'll be nice to see him even if it is for work,"
As Aileana reminisced, there was a light knock on the door as Riza walked back into the office.
"Ily, I didn't know you were visiting," she smiled, walking up and pulling her into a tight hug, "I was just telling the Führer that I needed to go out and pick a gift for you,"
"Oh Riza, you know you don't have to do that,"
As she laughed, she saw stopped by a sudden fit of coughing. Roy and Riza shared the same worried expression, given that they both had to work with her attacks for so many years, as they both converged on her. While it was unexpected, Aileana herself was not in the least bit worried.
"Would you two relax, it's probably just a summer cold; I get them every year,"
While she sounded optimistic, Roy was not convinced in the least. He himself knew that she had been cured by Marcoh, but he still had nightmares of her blood stained handkerchiefs. He made a mental note to himself to schedule for a doctor to see her as soon as possible.
As if sensing his motive, Aileana made a simple excuse to dismiss herself. She wasn't going to allow him to see her like this if it meant that he was going to worry about her for no reason; there was still a job to be done and that needed nearly all of his attention in that moment. Meeting back up with her bodyguards, they all began to make their way back towards the limousine when a figure appeared out of the corner of her eye.
The whole experience was quick and she had no ideawhat had just occurred. A man dressed in all grey had raced towards her, hishand bound into fists as if he were to punch her. Just as he was a few inchesfrom her, as her bodyguards turned towards him to push him away, he brought hishand up to his face, opened it, and blew. A powder that had been resting in hishands rushed into her face and was powerless to stop it as it entered her mouthand nose. The bodyguards wrestled him to the ground as they called over the onduty soldiers at the entrance to assist in holding the man. As she choked onthe powder, someone from behind ushered her into the car and barked for thedriver to floor it.