FicWad

Chapter 1- the meeting
"Could one of you tell me where I could find Colonel Hyrule's office?"
A young woman with frizzy orange hair and large green eyes stood awkwardly in the middle of a posse of higher ranking military executives. She gazed at them, admiring their stars and stripes on their shoulders.
"Why would you want to go there? Her office is incredibly messy. It's all paperwork in there. I doubt you'll find her in that mess", said a gruff voiced Major.
"She's been so busy lately since she was promoted. All that paperwork, I don't know how she juggles being a state alchemist and a Colonel too," commented another.
The woman looked discouraged. She thanked them with a faint smile and ran off down the crowded hallway. She had been searching for the Colonel's office all day and so far, she had come up with nothing.
She began to knock on doors at random hoping that Hyrule might be in one of them, buried in paperwork. She knocked on a door that read "251" in big, glossy numbers. She waited for the door to open but to her dismay, no one came to answer her. She tried another, and another after that, and every time, she came up with the same response. She began to head back to the secretary station where Schiezka would be waiting with more documents for filing. She frowned at the thought. As she passed through the hallway, she heard a door open. She turned around to see a tall, black-haired man step out of one of the closed office doors.
"Colonel Mustang!" she ran towards him, blushing the entire time.
He turned to see the orange, frizzy hair bobbing up and down towards him. He gave an irritated smile as the woman bounded over to him.
"Can I help you young lady?" It must be another one of my fan-girls, he thought.
"Yes, actually you can! I'm so glad I spotted you," she said cheerfully.
"Is that so? Well, what do you need? Advice? Assistance? My phone number?"
"Well, actually, I need directions. I need to find Colonel Hyrule's office. Do you know where I could find it?"
Roy smiled. Hyrule was getting so much attention these days. Her popularity was increasing like crazy. Soon, she would be even more popular than himself.
"Actually, I was planning on heading over there myself. You could tag along if you'd like," he said casually.
Her eyes twinkled. "Really? Oh, thank you very much!"
Roy smiled again, and they clacked down the hallway together. The woman stared at him longingly, which made him feel awkward.
"So...what do you need to see Colonel Hyrule about? You know, she's been rather busy these days," he said.
She lowered her head. "Oh, I don't mean to disturb her, honest! I just need to ask her something important..."
"Oh? What's that? Maybe you don't have to go through all this trouble in finding her after all..."
"No, it's something only she can answer. No offense Colonel," she said bashfully.
"None taken."
Finally, they reached her office. It was down a dark and cold corridor. It made the woman shiver.
Roy looked at her. "You ready?"
She nodded, but just as Roy lifted his hand to knock on the door, it swung open and Roy's knuckles met the pale nose of Lt. Colonel Frank Archer.
"Archer!?!" exclaimed Roy, "What are you doing here?"
"You aren't the only one who is friends with Hyrule Roy. Stop hogging her all to yourself," he joked coldly.
"I'm not hogging her all to myself. I'm just good friends with her. That's all."
Archer chuckled, "Yes, you keep telling yourself that Roy."
"What's that supposed to mean Archer?" hissed Roy.
"What the hell are you two quarreling about now?!?"
All three of them looked.
"Ayden!" said Roy.
A pale woman stood in the doorway. Her short blackish brown hair brushed gently against her cheek. Her bangs covered her eyes slightly. She wore a large black eye patch that went over her nose and behind her head. Her visible eye was gold and filled with irritation.
"Well? Did you come here to gape? Come in if you must," she said callously.
Roy and Archer both blushed and the woman was too much in awe to say anything. The three of them followed her into her office, which was extremely disorganized. Paperwork and old books with a strange language written on them were scattered everywhere. An old cup of tea sat underneath some old files. They managed to find two chairs that were covered with more strange books.
"Doing some light reading Ayden?" jested Roy.
"Tried to, but I've been so damn busy. Have a seat." She pointed at the two chairs that sat quietly behind Roy and the woman. Archer propped himself up against one of the cluttered walls.
"Who's this? Another one of your fan-girls Roy?" she said as she sat behind her desk.
"Very funny, but actually Ayden, this one is for you." He sniggered softly.
The woman shifted uncomfortably in the creaky chair and smiled timidly at Ayden.
"Oh...well, I'm Colonel Ayden Hyrule. And, you are?"
"Me? I'm Xerica Conworth. I'm a big fan of yours." She extended her hand to shake Ayden's.
She stared at for a while but then reluctantly took Xerica's hand and shook it gently.
"So, what is it you've come here for?" asked Ayden.
"Well, like I said, I'm a big fan of yours. I saw you, when you tried out for you alchemy exam. It was incredible."
"Well, thank you," replied Ayden awkwardly.
Xerica blushed. "I was really smitten with your technique. I also saw every one of your demonstrations, all five of them. If I'm not mistaken, you practice something called Dark Arts Alchemy...correct?" she stared shyly at Ayden.
"My state issued name is the Dark Arts Alchemist." Ayden's gold eye scanned Xerica. She didn't trust her.
"Oh, yes. How foolish of me. Some fan huh? Anyways, I also understand that your alchemy is composed of both alchemy and black magic...correct?"
Ayden glared at her. "What exactly are you getting at?" she asked impatiently.
Roy glanced at Archer, who was staring hard at Xerica.
She cleared her voice, "I was wondering...if...if you would teach me this alchemy. I want to learn it too. I've been in love with it ever since you came to Central, Colonel."
"What?" exclaimed Archer, "You can't be serious."
"I am! I want to learn it. Will you teach me? Please?" she was starting to beg.
Both Roy and Archer looked at Ayden, who was staring intensively at Xerica. Finally she rose from her desk, fists clenched.
"No."
Xerica stood up too. "What do you mean 'No'? I went through a lot of trouble trying to track you down you know..." she said angrily. This wasn't what she wanted.
"I mean 'No'. That's final." Ayden's eyes flashed with rage and irritation. She walked from her desk to her office door and opened it wide.
"I think you should leave now." Her eyes were lowered. Xerica furrowed her eyebrows and marched up to Ayden.
"But I just got here!" she pulled a large black book out of her backpack and shoved it into Ayden's hands. Ayden stared at the book.
"I've been studying it, your kind of alchemy. I can only do a little, but if you trained me, I know I could do better!" The anger was beginning to show in her voice.
"How much do you know?" asked Ayden.
Xerica grinned proudly, "I know how to make serums out of pig's blood to mend an open wound, and crow's blood to clear an infection. I've been reading about carbon; since that's what you specialize in Colonel. But I can't transmute anything...yet." She emphasized on the "yet".
Roy got up and walked over to Ayden's side. Ayden's black gloves fondled the books lettering. Then, without a word, she made five long carbon spears portray from her fingers and sliced the book into pieces. Xerica cried out as if Ayden had done it do her.
"Then, you already know too much"
"My book...that cost me a lot of money Colonel," Xerica said weakly.
Ayden handed her a small bag, inside were fifty gold pieces.
"That's should cover it, now leave."
Now Xerica was mad. She wasn't leaving without what she came for.
"I thought you were different Colonel. I thought you would be flattered that someone would want to learn it and have you as a mentor. But maybe I thought wrong..." she hissed.
Ayden sighed and shook her head. "You belong with people like Schiezka. You're a secretary. Not an alchemist. Especially a Dark Arts alchemist, the life of one would be too much to handle. I know you wouldn't be able to handle it. " She put a hand on Xerica's shoulder led her to the door.
She struggled. "But you were admitted into the military when you were nineteen. You were given the rank of Major when you entered, and made Colonel by the time you were twenty-one. Completely skipping Lt. Colonel!"
Ayden looked at her. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'm older than you, and you're younger than me, so if you can handle it, then I can handle it no problem, right?" she said shrilly.
"Get out." She pushed her through the door, but Xerica protested. She grabbed Ayden forearms and squeezed.
"Please! I want you to teach me!" Her grip tightened.
"That's not your place to decide! Now go!"
"Not until you teach me!"
Archer and Roy ran up to Xerica and tried to pry her off of Ayden.
"You heard her, she said 'No', now let go!" said Archer coldly.
"But, wouldn't you just give me a chance! I know I can do it, please!"
Archer pried Xerica off of Ayden's uniform sleeve pulled Ayden back. He glared at Xerica.
"You should be ashamed of yourself, going on like a sniveling baby, and practically attacking a superior official to you," he said.
Ayden raised a pale finger to his lips silence him. He blushed again. There was some sort of pleasure he received whenever Ayden touched him or even looked at him. Roy glared at him.
Xerica relaxed, but kept her eyes affixed on Ayden. They were filled with a dark hatred.
"You'll regret this Colonel Hyrule, you will regret this." With that Xerica marched down the corridor back to the secretary station.
"What the hell was that about?" asked Roy.
Ayden walked back to her desk and stared out the giant window. Her golden eyes were tired and hid a dark truth.
"Don't worry, this doesn't concern you."