Chapter Forty

I found Ed sitting on the lakeshore, absentmindedly skipping rocks along the lake's surface. For once, his hair was unbraided. Nina lay to the right to him, sleeping. I silently walked up to them and sat down on his left.

Without looking at me, he spoke up. "You probably have some things to say."

"Yeah." I put my hands on the ground behind me and leaned back on them. "Ed...I'm sorry. I know that I didn't do the right thing. I know that I had no right to play God. But I don't regret it, and I never will." I gave a sigh. "I...I understand if you never want to trust me again."

"And what about...us?" Molten gold eyes met mine as Ed finally looked at me and wildly gestured to the two of us. "Was this all because I'm some...main character or something?"

I drew back, hurt. "What?! No! What-Why would you think something like that?!"

"It's not an insane assumption." He shot back.

"Sure, but it's wrong!" I sat up and turned my body to face him. "I'm not pretending to like you, you dumbass! I don't need to bloody pretend to like you, especially with you being so stupidly smart and amazing and fun to be around and good looking and-"

With a start, I realised both what I had just said and the fact that somehow during my rant I had gotten uncomfortably close to Ed's face. We stared at each other for a moment before springing apart. My face felt like it was on fire. Since when had I thought all these things about Ed?

"I…" My voice came out as a squeak. "I should go."

"Stay." Ed was looking away, but his face looked as red as I felt.

"I, um." Dammit. "Right. Okay. Can we, uh...pretend that didn't happen?"

"That, uh, sounds like a good plan."

Awkward silence. Ed coughed. "So...what happened with you and Nina?"

How much do I tell him…? I can't tell him too much, I have to keep some of it a secret…

A voice in my head groaned. Idiot. He already know everything. Aren't you supposed to gain his trust?

You can't do this all on your own.

"...First of all, there's something you should know about Hughes..."

It felt good, finally telling someone everything. It felt good to not have secrets anymore.

I told him everything, from what was supposed to have happened to Hughes to the plan to save him. I recounted the tale of how the plan actually went down, and how Nina was kidnapped for a good cause. I was at the part where they didn't allow us to leave when I faltered.

"...So?" Ed asked. "What happened?"

"I…"

Ed put a hand on my shoulder, which was odd considering the really recent awkwardness between us. "Need time?"

"No, I'm good." I took a deep breath. "Well…"

I backed up slowly, putting my hands up. "Hey, now. Let's just talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Moreau's voice was cold. "As much as you care about your sœurna, you're putting what you think is best over the best option for her."

"Hey, hey. Back the hell up. I never said that I wasn't going to let her go. I just don't want her to go without me." And that was true. There was so much about Creta that I didn't know. I needed to know more about the chimera country.

"So why not go now?"

Ed. Al. I need to tell them. "I have things to do."

Moreau gave me an icy stare, then raised her hand again. Her men slowly lowered their guns and stepped back. "I see. And when are you going with her to join us?"

"I'll send word. Happy?"

We stared each other down until Moreau finally nodded and reached into the breast pocket. She pulled out a small card and handed it to me. I took a look at it. Camille Moreau, Chimera Cruelty Foundation. HQ: Poitiers, Creta. [xxxxxxxx] The name and title was repeated in multiple languages underneath.

"Call me when you're ready and we can arrange transportation. We can also arrange some living quarters, if need be."

Macario stepped forward as well and handed me another card. His looked like Moreau's, with the exception of the headquarter location. "You may need this as well. I can provide assistance as well, especially if you are closer to me than Madelle Moreau.

I pocketed the cards and nodded. "Thank you. Now, can we leave?"

The two agents stepped back. "Until we meet, Madelle Morgan," Macario told me, inclining his head slightly.

"Remember what I've told you," Moreau warned me. "Look out for your sœurna."

"I will." I led Nina towards the door and tried to ignore the suddenly uneasy feeling in my chest.

"...So, you're heading off to Creta?"

I gave a hum of confirmation. "I want to do research on chimeras and Alkemirastry. This is probably the best time to do it."

He nodded. "And where are we going?"

"You and Al? Um…" I furrowed my forehead and tried to think. "You're going to meet Greed here, I think. He'll tell you what he is, so I don't think I need to explain. Watch out for the Fuhrer." I thought occured to me, and I snickered. "Oh, Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"You forgot to submit a report, didn't you?"

Ed jolted. "OH, SHIT!" He raced off, leaving me laughing hysterically.

I explained the Creta situation to Al. He was actually a bit jealous that I was going to be able to research internationally, which honestly was very Al. I contacted Mustang, and he managed to set up a fake identity for me (just in case Creta was as hostile as Drachma) and arranged for me to stay with Hughes at the safe house. Luckily, Moreau was near the border, so she could help me get to the safehouse. Everything was sorted out quickly, and I was ready to go in three days.

I now stood in front of the train headed towards Creta, facing Ed, Al, and Teacher. Nina had gone into the train along with all my luggage.

"Stay safe, okay?" Al said, giving me a hug.

I nodded into his chest before pulling back and pulling a notebook out of my coat pocket. "Here, this is for you. Consider it a going-away present."

He took it and inspected it. "What's this?"

"Some stuff about my world. Machines that fly in the air, small music players…"

If Al had eyes, they'd bug out of his head. He looked back at the notebook, handling it gingerly as if it held the secrets of the universe. Maybe to him it did.

I looked to Teacher. "I know that after...I know that I am no longer your student because I broke your rules, but I hope that we can still be…" I made a vague gesture. "Friends?"

She snorted. "I'll admit, you've grown on me despite being a little pain to train. I'm proud to consider you one of my former pupils." That was huge praise coming from her, and I felt myself slightly glowing with pride.

Finally, I looked to Ed. He shifted uncomfortably, and I was embarrassingly reminded of my outburst a few days ago.

"So…" He started.

"So." I echoed.

"How long are you going to be gone?"

"No idea, you'll have to keep me updated." I gave a small grin. "Don't wait up for me, okay?"

"Got it." Ed cleared his throat a few times, then spoke again. "Be, uh...be careful."

"Okay." There was a pause. "Well, uh...if that's all, I'm, uh…" I turned around and began walking towards the train, feeling kind of weird.

"Lina!"

I turned back around, eyebrow raised. "Ye-"

A pair of lips covered mine, cutting off anything that I was going to say. My mind went blank. Before I could react, Ed pulled away. His face was slightly flushed. "Be careful," he repeated softly, before kissing me again and racing off. I was left staring dumbly at the place where Ed was standing just a few minutes ago.

I vaguely noticed that Al was chuckling. "Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes owe me money."

Teacher just tsked.

I kept on standing there dumbfounded until the shrill whistle of the train made me snap out of it. I numbly stumbled onto the train, absentmindedly waving goodbye to an amused Al and Teacher.

Nina was sitting in front of the window, laughing. Obviously, she'd seen everything. "Don't...like...him…?" She asked between huffing laughs.

I shoved her and turned away from her, looking out the window. Best not to think about...what had just happened (what did just happen? I felt so confused and lost now). We wouldn't see him again until much later, in any case. Now, I had to focus on Nina and learning about Creta.

I was going off of the story, and I had no idea what was going to happen. The thought both scared and excited me. I'd be away from Ed and Al, but I had faith in them now. If anything happened, they could manage.

Right now, I had my own adventure to go on.

A cloaked figure walked down the corridor of the train, their hood covering their face. They moved as if they had a purpose, but their steps were silent. A stray hair escaped their hood and was casually brushed back. Light from the windows of open train compartments streamed into the otherwise dark corridor in patches. Many of the closed compartments had curtains drawn, and light from the windows facing outside cast silhouettes on the curtains. In the compartments without windows drawn, people slept peacefully on beds or lounged on seats reading newspapers. The figure walked past all of the compartments without stopping.

At one compartment, however, they paused. The curtains were open, revealing a young woman with long (but ridiculously messy) black hair and a deep blue coat sitting close to the outside window. She was touching her lips and looking out with a slightly dazed look on her face. A dark-haired chimera girl lay next to her, dozing off.

Underneath their cloak, the figure ran a thumb over the handle of a handgun. They wouldn't need it now, not yet. When they killed the girl, they wanted her looking at them and begging for mercy.

They gave a grim smile and walked off towards their own compartment. Justice would come soon. Very, very soon.

[~To be continued~]

-BEFORE THE AUTHOR'S NOTE-

Creta, or the Creta that I will be writing, is a combination of France and Spain. As such, the language of Cretan will be a mixture/mashup of French and Spanish words. The accents of the Cretans will also vary in description depending on the place that they live; Northern Cretans, who share a border with Amestris, will sound more French, while Southern Cretans will sound more Spanish (this detail may or may not be used, honestly).

Cretan Words So Far:

Sœrna- Sister

Madelle- Miss, a term of respect

A/N: And thus concludes A Brighter Flame, Another Hope! Exactly two years later, and we've made it through! Now, as you all know, the sequel to this (name TBD) will not immediately start. I, uh...need to finish some stories first. My plan is to finish posting Behind Blue Eyes and write a one-shot or two before sorting out my poetry manuscript thing (long story, you can PM me about it if you're interested). Then I'll probably work on rewriting the beginning chapters of A Brighter Flame, Another Hope and reposting the entire story (I've decided to keep the name for the rewrite and simply change the name of this to When I Said I Wanted a Change in Scenery… A mouthful, I know. If it's too long, it'll just be When I Said I Wanted a Change...). Only then will I start working on the sequel. Sorry, guys. Anyways. A lot of thanks are in order, so here they are!

THANK YOU TO:

-Anthem of the Lonely, for keeping me writing and posting in the very beginning. This would never have gotten this far without you.

-The friends that I met while writing this, particularly yoyowezy, The Utterly Fabulous Z, and havarti2. You guys are just...amazing.

-Thoroughly Misguided, who gave me the title that I still have.

-All of the people who reviewed this story; I loved (and still love and will always love) reading what you wrote, no matter how helpful what you said was.

-All of the people who added this story to their favorites. You liked this story enough to add it to your list of good stories, and I can't express how amazing you are!

-All of the people who followed this story. You guys have been my silent support, and reminded me that I have people watching me, even when they don't review.

-Anyone and everyone who gave me constructive criticism; you have no idea how much I appreciate it.

-Nat and Addie, my IRL friends who read this story and surprisingly liked it (especially Addie, who kept refreshing the page to make sure that she never missed an update).

-Jacky, for reading this and not running away. You...words cannot describe how amazing you are. You are my support, one of my best friends, and so much more. And before you ask, yes. It's very awkward to try to write romance now. Nevertheless, I kind of have to keep it a romance now. ._.

-Everyone who bothered to even try to read this, regardless whether they continued or not.

-And you, the person reading this right now. I love you guys so much. Thank you.