The first thing Ling, Mei, and Lan Fan did when they got back to Xing was announce Ling's victory at the foot of the Emperor's councilman's dais. Immediately, the three were swept up in the ensuing chaos of court life as the imperial palace planned to announce the next heir.

They were separated almost immediately- something that caught Mei off guard. She couldn't really say she considered Ling and Lan Fan friends but they were her allies, and Ling had promised to protect her and her clan, all the clans. But shortly after it was announced that Ling was victorious and had something to present the emperor, Mei was caught up in a flurry of robes and was quickly ushered into a separate hall.

"W-wait!" She called, tears of panic pricking her eyes. She could see Ling being ushered away in a similar manner- but his eyes scanned the crowd for Lan Fan and skipped over Mei completely.

Rough hands pushed and prodded and pulled and maids and men she didn't recognize chattered about her.

She struggled and tried to ask where they were taking her but she quickly found out once she was roughly shoved into a large bathroom that was more ornate than any building in her whole clan.

Some of the maids and ladies in waiting barked orders for the bathers to clear out and once the room was clear Mei felt several different pairs of hands pulling off her travel stained clothes and pulling out her hair. Then she was being scrubbed from the soles of her feet to the scalp of her head.

Mei felt like her skin was about to be scrubbed off. After more than a month in the desert she thought she would be grateful for a tub of clean water and a bar of soap but she was starting to think she would prefer sun and sand over this rough treatment.

As one of the ladies damn near ripped her ear off pulling her close to scrub behind it, Mei squinted through one eye and saw Xiao Mei was getting a similar treatment.

"She's not going to like that," Mei called out in warning. The servants gave her a nasty look and dunked the panda under the water. Mei was dunked in a similar fashion, rinsing the suds from her hair.

When Mei emerged, gasping for breath, the woman holding Xiao Mei was crying out in pain, hand red from the little bite wounds.

"I tried to warn you," Mei quipped bitterly.

Soon she was dragged from the water and roughly toweled off. As one woman tousled her hair with a towel another pinched and prodded and took her measurements. Mei tried to cover her breasts as the woman worked but her hands were slapped aside and they were measured as well.

The lady barked some more orders and a couple maids scurried off while Mei was finally allowed to wrap a towel about herself and was dragged into another chamber where one woman began combing through her hair with oils and tying it in an elaborate style. She was commanded to sit still as someone started painting her face with makeup but she didn't plan on arguing and just sat there dumbfounded.

The trek across the desert had been laborious but it had also been calm and steady. This sudden rapid fire jerking and pulling and tumbling from here and there was a shell shock in itself and Mei had no idea what was going on. Was Ling getting the same treatment? Where was Lan Fan? Lan Fan needed her automail checked as soon as possible, she didn't need to be alone. They needed to present the stone to the emperor but Ling had the stone- oh no, was Ling safe? Was that why they separated them?

Mei started feeling antsy, never knowing who was friend or foe when she visited the imperial palace. The emperor's wives had the choice of living with their families in their clans and visiting for political occasions and matrimonial visits or having permanent residence in the palace.

The ones who lived in the palace permanently were the ones to be worried about the most, the ones who were most wrapped up in the spider web of lies and schemes that dominated court life in the palace. Any one of them could easily plan an attack on another's child who presented a means to appease the emperor before their own.

Mei looked around nervously for her kunai, never feeling fully safe without them. She began to panic a bit when she couldn't locate them and feared someone had thrown them out. Just before the woman painting her face roughly jerked her back into place Mei sighed in relief. Her soiled travel clothes had been thrown out but her belongings such as her knives, hair ribbons and beads and box of chalk were all neatly stacked on a cushion.

The maids who had run off before came back with beautiful silks cast over their shoulders and arms. The woman Mei deemed Head Lady shifted through them with deft fingers, tutting about which one looked best or which pattern she deemed most fitting. Mei's eye caught on a beautiful lapis lazuli piece that had an intricate pattern with cranes and leaves and reached out to it but the Head Lady snatched it away and began dressing Mei in golds and greens and orange.

Blegh. Mei hated orange.

But finally, finally, she was done and for a moment she was able to view herself in the mirror. Xiao Mei's eyes were big and sparkly as she regarded her master but Mei felt sick.

Her hair was done up in a simple but elegant bun, her face was painted in a traditional fashion with orange eye shadow and red lips. It wasn't the hair or makeup that truly dazzled her though. It was the dress. She was wearing a beautiful hanfu style dress which consisted of layers of silk and long sleeves that dipped down well past her fingertips. It was all a mix of sunset orange and summer green and sky blue with a trim of gold and cords and belts wrapped around her waist. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever worn and was easily more expensive than any of her dresses combined, even the one her family had gifted her on her twelfth birthday.

If she didn't know it was herself she wouldn't have recognized herself. She looked pretty and older but she also didn't look like herself and that felt weird. It was like all the stuff that happened to the girl in Amestris happened to some girl in Amestris and this Xingese princess had no right to request the favor of the emperor because what had she ever done to earn it?

She didn't have long to dwell on that. Soon she was being ushered through the halls, this time with a couple guards at the lead and one at their flank. The Head Lady walked briskly ahead of them all and so Mei tried to keep up but she felt suddenly awkward in the layers of silks, not wanting to step on a dress she did not own.

She recognized the royal housing quarters, she had spent a lot of time there with her mother as a child, as many of the emperors children had. Sadly, her mother was one of the women who chose to mainly live with her clan and had taken Mei with her when she was still young- she knew chances of finding her mother here now were slim to none.

She recognized a couple of the wives clustered together and murmuring and giving her smiles that dripped venom as she passed. She was grateful for the guards then. She didn't see her mother or any of her family's servants but finally a couple of the emperor's concubines rounded the corner and Mei smiled. The concubines, whose children had no chance of gaining the throne, had no reason to harm her and were usually overly generous of any of the emperor's legal children since gaining their favor would only benefit them in the long run.

Mei broke from her troupe for a moment while they were busy discussing something without her to run up to a pretty young woman Mei had seen her mother gossiping with on more than one occasion. She wasn't sure if they were truly friends but at least she would know her.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Mei said with a small bow. The concubines flinched a bit and looked confused. Princes and Princesses weren't obligated to bow to concubines, just wives. The surrounding wives shot her dirty looks but Mei ignored them and the concubines giggled. "I'm sorry to bother you but is my mother here?"

"Well, hello there, my precious duckling," the concubine said with a trill of laughter in her voice. "Have you lost your mother, then? And just who may she be?"

"Mei-Hua," Mei replied simply. She often wondered her mother's own vanity for naming her only daughter after herself but then again she had done the same with her own pet panda.

The concubine's eyes lit up in recognition and her voice lost the teasing tone.

"My goodness, can it be that you're our dear Wa-wa's little Mei-chan, then? Well, that cannot be because the Mei-chan I know is about the size of the grain of rice and cannot possibly be the beautiful woman I see before me."

Normally Mei would have beamed at the praise (okay a lot of her mother's vanity had passed on to her) but she didn't have time for pleasantries.

"Can you tell her I'm here?" Mei plucked one of the bangles from her wrist and offered it to the concubine as a sort of bribe- concubines were notoriously easy to pay off with jewels and silks and Mei figured one missing bangle wouldn't land her in too much hot water. "Please?"

The concubine smiled and pushed the bangle back towards Mei. "I'll see if I can find her. She was here a few weeks ago but she may have returned to her province by now."

Mei frowned and slid the bangle back on. The leader of her troupe finally noticed she was missing and called for her to come back.

Before Mei could leave the concubine reached into her own hair and pulled out a pretty but simple hair pin and tucked it into Mei's own elaborate updo, pretending to be fixing Mei's hair and buying them some time.

"Don't worry, my little duckling. I'll be sure to find your mother, but for now you need to worry about your father."

"My father…?"

The concubine continued to fiddle with Mei's hair as she nodded sharply toward the large double doors at the end of the hall.

"He hasn't been feeling well lately and has a tendency to take it out on visitors. Try to only speak when he addresses you and if in doubt just stay quiet and look pretty- you shouldn't have too much trouble with that, right?" The concubine finished with a wink, done fiddling with her hair.

Mei gulped, finally realizing what was happening. She was being dolled up to see her father. She hadn't expected to have to see him this soon. Why were they going to his personal sleeping quarters and not the receiving room?

Mei felt tears in her eyes at mostly a stranger's kindness. "Thank you-" she touched the borrowed hairpin gently "-I'll bring this back."

"Consider it a gift. In exchange, you can tell me what happens in there later, okay?"

Mei nodded and scampered back to her group. She knew the concubine was probably mostly interested in gaining favor and gossip but still the little act of kindness was something to be grateful for.

She was ushered through yet another hallway and they came upon another group and her heart swelled when she recognized who was in the middle of the hubbub.

"Ling!"

Mei never thought she would be grateful to see Ling Yao but as she ran up beside him she had to actually suppress the sudden urge to tackle hug him as she was prone to do. She was relieved to see he had received similar treatment to herself- dressed in a deep blue cheongsam with even deeper blue and green designs. His hair had been unruly and coarse during their trip through the desert but had now been washed and brushed and pulled into a neat bun with a purple ribbon. She'd have thought he looked handsome had she not known who he was.

"Mei," Ling nodded at her. His voice sounded like she felt- queasy. "You look nice."

"You too," she said with a watery smile.

Ling was hardly looking at her. He was glancing above her head and around the room. She knew he wanted to discuss some things before they had to see their father but neither of them were foolish enough to give anything up in front of people. People were already milling around and whispering, shooting them dirty looks or looks of disbelief.

Remembering how the concubine had stalled for time, Mei cleared her throat until she got Ling's attention then pointedly dropped one of her bangles. Ling got the hint after a second and knelt down to pick it up, taking his time to make a show of gingerly placing it back on his favorite little sister's wrist.

"Was Lan Fan not with you?" Ling whispered without looking up at her.

"No. They must have split us up on purpose. They wouldn't let me carry my knives. They don't trust us."

"Same here, they took my sword and my ultimate weapon. It's not like her to not be by my side so promise me you'll help me look for her tonight, okay," Ling muttered, fiddling with her wrist. Mei nodded.

Almost as soon as Ling stood up they were ushered into the final room and announced properly and for the first time in her life Mei was sitting one on one with her father. She bowed and urged Xiao Mei to stay hidden within the folds of her dress.

The emperor once had been a formidable man. Standing at 6'3, with broad shoulders and a serious face, he could once shoot fear in anyone's heart with a simple look. Mei recalled one of the few times she actually remembered her father holding her as a small child and despite his smile his black eyes held no warmth for his offspring nor had she ever seen him grace anyone with a genuine smile or laugh.

The man sitting before her now was like a caricature of the man in her memory. He was still tall but slumped forward as if the weight of the world had gently sloped his back over the years. His long hair was streaked with more grey than black and hung loose about his shoulders. His black eyes were still cold but tinged yellow- a sign of the sickness that threatened to take him. Despite Mei and Ling's formal attire their father looked like he was greeting them in his pajamas, which seemed to sag off his skinny frame. Mei had heard their father was ill but she hadn't known how bad his illness was until now. The aura of the room alone was sickly and enough to tell her that he was not long for this world.

No wonder they were meeting in his room. He wouldn't be able to make it out the door on his own.

Mei didn't know what to say but she reminded herself that this was more Ling's meeting than her own. Their father fixed them both with steady gazes. Mei averted her own but Ling held steady with his own frown.

"So," the emperor began, "my children. I have been told you have something for me."

Despite his haggard, sickly appearance, their father still had a voice that could shake any warlord to the core. It wasn't loud or violent but there was a steady underlying confidence that clearly said I can and will kill you where you stand so best not provoke me.

Ling said nothing, merely fished the little vial with the philosopher's stone and set it on the table.

"And this is…?" The emperor asked after regarding the stone in silence for a few minutes, his expression unchanging.

"A way to immortality," Ling said simply, fists clenching atop his thighs.

"Is it now," the emperor replied in a skeptical voice. "Excuse me for doubting you, my son, but I think I may need a better explanation than that."

"It's … a philosopher's stone."

The emperor looked a lot more intrigued after that.

Mei tried not to look her father in the eye as Ling explained as best he could what the stone was and how it worked while never giving away what it was made from or how he had truly obtained it.

The emperor himself had no training in alkahestry but the legend of the philosopher's stone was one known throughout the land by anyone who had even a basic knowledge of the art of alkahestry- especially by someone who had been seeking a means to immortality.

Mei had been adamant that they could not reveal that the stone was made from human lives and she was grateful that Ling had wholeheartedly agreed with her. They both knew the kind of man their father was. So, she listened to Ling recount his altered tale of their adventures in Amestris- leaving out anything that would connect them to any of the people they had left behind. She was shocked when Ling decided to glance over the fact that he had harbored a homunculus inside his body for months (honestly, he seemed kind of proud of it) but she knew that all their father was concerned with was his own life.

What if he doesn't believe us? A sudden panicked thought struck her as she listened to the absurdity of the tale even with the weirdest parts left out. Even without telling of the homunculi, the demon that was Father, the being that had almost succeeded in consuming god, their tale sounded farfetched. Maybe even more so with all the important bits left out.

In the end their tale boiled down to this: Our paths crossed in Amestris, we united in an attempt to find the stone, we ran across some knowledgeable alchemists and managed to use them to track down the stone. Some of their enemies tried to stop us and many people got hurt, but we made it out alive with the stone in hand. They had seen the stone create miracles and thought it may be able to extend the Emperor's life.

Mei could hear their father's laborious breathing grow even more laboured as Ling progressed through his tale. She chanced a glance up and saw the man staring at the philosopher's stone with a fiery glint in his eye. All doubts of him not believing their tale washed away- his eyes reminded her of the way Ling's had when he harbored that thing. Greedy.

The eyes of a man who was desperate and willing to believe just about anything.

When Mei was finally allowed to leave, her legs felt like jelly and her stomach squirmed but she was relieved to be breathing air that wasn't stale and sweet with the rank of sickness.

Mei hardly had a chance to speak during the meeting for which she was ultimately grateful. Ling would of course be the one accredited to obtaining and presenting the stone but he had been sure to include Mei's contributions so she too would be held in high regards.

As she and Ling left their father's bed chambers, he quickly pulled her aside down a mostly abandoned corridor. Mei was getting really sick of being yanked around.

"You alright?" Was what Ling asked first, and that made her irritation diminish a bit. He must have been able to see her nerves and nausea even through all her make up. Mei just nodded and Ling offered up one of his trade mark grins.

"Yeah, he always makes me wanna piss my pants, too," Ling said with a short laugh. His eyes soon grew serious again and his tone lowered despite them being alone. "He's going to want to use the stone. Tonight."

"I know."

"Remember what we discussed before? In the desert?"

Mei nodded, feeling grim.

"Do you still want to go through with it?"

Ling's voice portrayed that he wouldn't make her do anything she didn't want to do, but she also knew: she didn't really have a choice.

So she said, "Of course." Ling smiled, it was the answer he had wanted to hear.

Mei felt her stomach flutter in anticipation of what she was dubbing mentally the plan. They had been able to convince their father of the stone's abilities without giving too many key aspects of how it was used. They also told him they knew how to use it, though. How to grant him immortality.

Ling nodded again. "Okay. I'm going to try and find Lan Fan before then. Normally, I'd say she would find us first, but her arm is in pretty nasty shape. Will you help me look for her, still?"

Mei said she would and they decided on the best time to reconvene before breaking apart

After that she was mostly left to her own devices, but she felt a lot of eyes on her at once, even when she thought she was alone. Being a princess from a low ranking clan, she was used to no one really noticing her or what she did. This time she felt like everyone was watching her.

She wanted to find her mother but she needed to find Lan Fan first. Sadly, she had no idea where she would be. Would she be taken to the medical wing? Or held for questioning?

Mei popped into the medical wing but didn't find any traces of Ling's body guard. She debated on asking someone if anyone had seen her but she received mostly suspicious looks and decided to hold her tongue.

Somehow, on her quest for Lan Fan, Mei managed to run into her mother. Almost literally.

She rounded a corner and almost bumped into her own mother. Mei felt relief wash over her as she finally found a familiar, friendly face.

"Mei!" The older woman exclaimed when she finally recognized the girl in the dress, tears pricking her eyes. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Oh, my precious girl, I've missed you so much."

She was scooped up into a big hug and suddenly Mei felt very young again in her mother's arms. She felt tears well up in her eyes unbidden and the weight of all that had happened in Amestris, the people she had to leave behind, returning to help Amestris even though she had a philosopher's stone in her grasp, the fear of what was to become of her clan all washed over her at once and she couldn't fight back the sobs that tore from her throat.

"I'm sorry," was all she could manage, tears streaking her face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Her mother pulled her aside and lead her to an empty room and tried to console the girl as best she could. It's okay, it's okay, she heard her mother murmur in her ear, a warm hand stroking her back.

But it wasn't okay, Mei thought. She had returned a failure.

Eventually Mei sobered up and her mother took her by the hand and began to lead her away. Mei had been so lost in her little breakdown that she had momentarily forgotten about her mission.

"Mama, wait, I have to find someone-"

She was cut off by her mother's knowing wink. Mei silently followed her mother after that and soon they were in one of the sleeping chambers that housed many of the concubines. Mei looked about a bit, confused, various women scattered about a room full of similar looking beds. Why had her mother brought her here? What were they-

"Lan Fan!" Mei gasped and ran up to her friend.
Lan Fan was resting on one of the beds, looking feverish, but otherwise well and clean. She was surrounded by a group of women- a couple of whom seemed to be treating Lan Fan's damaged arm, the rest just seemed curious.

Lan Fan sat up and gripped at her automail at Mei's approach.

"Mei. Where is the Young Lord?"

"Looking for you," Mei replied and they exchanged knowing looks. Of course they brought her here, men weren't allowed here.

They really are keeping us separated. Mei thought. They don't trust us.

"Thank you all," Mei said with a small bow, and began removing her cumbersome gown (she had already cried off most of the make up). "I can take over from here."

The women frowned but weren't about to argue with one of the royal heirs so everyone but Mei's mother gave them some distance. Mei-Hua busied herself pulling some curtains about the bed for privacy.

"There's a lot I need to tell you," Mei said quietly as she began setting up an alkahestry array to heal Lan Fan's arm. "Both of you, but Lan Fan is more important right now. Lan Fan, will you be able to move by tonight?"

"I will," Lan Fan replied with the determination Mei had come to expect from her. Mei nodded, then leaned in and whispered something that was for her ears only, thankful that the room was too busy for anyone else to hear them.

On their third day in Xing, Mei was exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, physically- preparing for the death of an emperor was time consuming and hectic in a way she had never considered.

It was well past nightfall when she was allowed to return to her own room. She changed into her sleeping robe and let her hair down and attempted to settle into bed- but despite her exhaustion she couldn't sleep. She had too much on her mind.

Mei had made a lot of friends during her time in Amestris- people she cared for deeply and yet had to leave behind. Her duty to her people always came first, of course, but she couldn't help but worry about those she left in the wake of the Promised Day.

She worried about Alphonse Elric in particular. He had been so kind and brave, not only protecting her but sacrificing himself to save everyone else- Mei's heart ached at the thought of him never returning.

Luckily he had returned, but the boy who replaced the tall, gallant suit of armor was no where near what Mei had expected. The Alphonse who came back was thin and frail and obviously suffering- it had been over a month since she had last seen him, would he be any better now? Or worse?

That thought alone was enough to jolt Mei upright in bed as panic struck her along with a realization. She had seen the same haggard, sunken eyed look on her father as he lay on his deathbed. Surely her dear Alphonse would only be getting better from here on out… Right?

Mei's overactive imagination was enough to drive her to dig out some paper and start penning a letter by candlelight. She was halfway through explaining everything that had happened when she paused and gave her letter a scrupulous stare.

The people in the palace still didn't trust her or Ling. She couldn't afford to trust them either, so she held the letter up to the candle and let the flames devour it.

She restarted, leaving out any crucial details that may raise suspicion, and focused on asking about Alphonse himself, since that was her true motive anyway. She trusted Alphonse beyond a shadow of a doubt but would have to leave the rest to be told in person someday.

She paused at that- would she be seeing Alphonse Elric again? He lived across the desert, and was in no shape to be travelling any time soon. He had briefly mentioned coming to her for alkahestry once in the North, but had he really meant it?

Mei snapped out of her reverie when she heard someone walking in the hall. She decided then that yes, she definitely would see her friend again, somehow, and quickly signed her letter.

By the time the maid entered her room to check on the light, Mei was curled up around Xiao Mei, feigning sleep perfectly, a wisp of smoke rising from the blown out candle. Her letter was secretly folded beneath her pillow, signed Until I see you again as a sort of promise to him and herself.