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 Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 5:29 pm
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 5:32 pm
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CHPT. 2
Chapter One : The Feeling of Bitter Sadness.
A ROYAI STORY.
The dim light seemed to float over her head as she shoveled the piles of papers around her wooden desk, signing things, and filling out forms for the military. It was almost endless, but she finally finished her stack. As for the rest of her comrades, they were sleeping or drooling over the paperwork. Riza stood up abruptly, looking around, eyeing the men who wer slacking off. Her strict demeanor easily traveled to them and the ones who weren't sleeping were now nudging the ones who were. Whispers were thrown around the room, but the Colonel seemed not to notice as he stared off out the window boredly. Riza glared at Roy for a moment, but eventually turned on her heel with a sigh. Falman watched her, closely exaimining her every move until her body turned the corner tensely. Calculating her movements, he decided what she was feeling at the moment, and was going to ask the Colonel about it. But he even doubted he knew. So he'd just mention it to him.
Riza carried her documents quite snugly to her chest and strode through the hallways of Central Headquarters. Today, particularly, she wasn't in the best mood. Most of the time, she'd remind everyone to keep up, but today she was using her deadly stares and her strict movements of the body to show them that they need to get their bodies in gear or she was most likely going to go nuts. Currently, Riza was burning inside, full of anger, anxiety, and fear. She'd recieved the letter today that she'd be changing stations, and moving North to Briggs. But she still couldn't explain why she was taking out all the anger on her friends... As soon as she got home, she couldn't tell if she was going to break down in tears, or throw fists of rage at the walls. All she could do to remain calm. Keep her emotions out of her duty and stay still.
Dropping off the parchment, the Lieutenant left the building quietly without a word. Those her saluted her on her way out, she nodded to gravely in a way. What was she going to do? Riza's job was to protect him, she couldn't bare to leave him. She knew that her undeveloped feelings were love for him, but she denied it all the same. Could she even imagine living without him? A year or two she confessed, during their battle with Envy, that she didn't want to live without him... He had asked her what she would do without him, when and if she shot him. "I have no desire to keep on living carefreely by myself. When the war is over, I will erase the flame alchemy that spreads madness...I will erase my entire body from this world..." Her body shivered as the thought ran through her head. It was all true, though. She didn't want to go anywhere without him. Roy was Riza's only.
As Riza stepped out of the building, and walked across the parking lot, she retrieved her car and sat there for a moment before even getting out the keys. Her mind was set on one thing. Staying with the Colonel. Protecting him from danger. Roy altogether. Her hands shakily stuffed the keys in the ignition, and her hands gripped the wheel frustratedly. Before she knew it, her eyes were being invaded by tears and her body shook. Why couldn't she take it calmly like anyone else would? Sure, they would have been bummed, like say, Fuery or Havoc were replaced somewhere else, but Riza had a bond closer to the Colonel than anyone in their troop... perhaps that is why. Only when she began to sniffle, did she realize where she was. She was abashed at herself for letting her emotions take over so carelessly and easily. Hadn't she survived the fighting in Ishval? Wasn't she the one who endured being parentless for so long? How could she be crying now?...
Riza finally gained control of herself and started up the car once more before driving off, wiping away her tears. It didn't take long to get home as she reached got to the other side of town. Her apartment was down the block and she could imagine that Hayate was waiting by the door like usual, ready for his evening walk. The Lieutentant parked carefully her vehicle inbetween two more and shut off the rumbling engine. She opened the car door and brought her two guns and one rifle, craddling them perfectly in her arms. As suspected, Hayate was waiting patiently at the door. Riza bent down, laying her firearms aside, and pulled him into a warm hug. Hayate whimpered, feeling her saddened aura around him. He licked her cheek and Riza stroked him fur. Eventually, she let him down, knowing he'd get restless, even if he knew that she was feeling a range of painful emotions. "I'll be back Hayate," she whispered softly, in a broken tone. Hayate barked in response, as she left the room and headed off to take a shower.
The warm water trickling down her skin let her stress disperse for the moment. Her hands ran through her hair as she washed, but Riza turned off the faucet after a good four minutes. She wasn't too keen on running up the electricity bill. Wrapping a towel around her chest, she dried her hair with another, and her waist down until it was alright to throw on a pair of sweat pants without having them get damp. In the background Hayate was yapping at someone at the door, so Riza hurried out, drying off the rest of her body as quickly as she could. "I'm coming!" she said loud enough for anyone, including the person waiting, to hear. She threw on a black t-shirt that covered the nasty scars covering her back. Her father's flame alchemy. His work from over the years. A secret kept between, her and Roy.
The towel she was using was around her shoulders, but she threw it over on across a chair and decided that she'd tend to it later. The blonde peeked to see who it was and sure enough it was the Colonel. Roy whom she so dearly loved. How was she going to say this? It was probably a half an hour to and forty-five minutes since she left the office and everyone was most likely gone now. Riza widdened the door and actually, quite shyly, let him in. Roy looked around for a moment, as she led him to the leather couch by the coffee table where another recliner sat across from it. He sat in the single chair, and Riza positioned herself at the far edge of the couch. He looked at her with soft, yet curious eyes. Obviously, Falman had told him before he left the office himself. Riza's stomach squirmed nervously. How many times had he been here when he had gotten drunk? She couldn't count them...
Finally after what seemed like hours of silence, Roy spoke. "Lieutenant... You've been acting strange. Is there something wrong?" Riza cringed at the words 'something wrong'. Of course there was. She sighed softly, and got up only to walk to the kitchen and rumage through three or four papers. Two of them were paid bills, the other was the one she only dared to look at when she had to. Taking this one, she dragged herself back to the table. The document inside had been roughly stuffed inside the envelope, but it , was only lightly wrinkled. The date at the top read 05.06, and under it... She didn't even want to read on. It was eating her from the inside out in the first place just thinking about it. Roy took the letter carefully without saying a word as she had when she left. His eyes scanned the letter, widdened, and he looked up. "You're leaving Central? You don't have to, it's.. this.." Roy couldn't find the right words.
Riza looked down sadly. "It wasn't a request, Taisa*. It was an order from the higher-ups..." she said softly, with melancholy in her voice. She bit her lip. What next? Was he going to burn the parchement in his hands? If Riza had that power and had a chance to abuse it, that was what she'd do. She couldn't run away from this. If she retired from the military anyways, she wouldn't be able to protect Roy. Either way, she was stuck. Their partnership was coming to an end. But perhaps, even if they did part, she'd still be Roy's most trusted subordinate. Always. Riza almost let a tear escape, but she held it back just in time so that Roy stood up. "Lieutenant... Would you mind meeting me fifteen minutes before your shift...?" Riza looked up, "I'm always there fifteen minutes earlier, sir." A smirk appeared on his lips and danced, "But I'm never there fifteen minutes before." he said calmly before walking back to the door. "Please excuse me, Lieutenant..." he said quietly, but Riza could detect a tone of bitter sadness there. "Have a good night's sleep." he finished. Before she knew it she was all alone with Hayate again. She looked back down at her lap. "You too, Roy..."
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